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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



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A POPULAI^ TREATISE 



ON 



BAPTISM, 



IN THREE PARTS: 



What is Baptism? 
WJlo is to be Baptized? 
Hozu are ive to be Baptized? 



REV. J. J. LEBERMAN. A. M. 



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DATTON, OHIO : 

FEFORMKD PrBI.ISHlM; rf.MI'ANV, 

188C. 



OF CO'";? 

MAY 10 1886 I 



?n 



WASHm<^ 



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Copyright by Rev. J. J. Leberman, 1886. 



The Libra.<v 
OF Congress 



WASHINGTOH 



PREFACE. 



THE author is aware that there are 
many books on this much contro- 
Terted subject, and that many wiser and 
abler men have written for the purpose 
of giving h'ght to those who were in 
darkness and ignorance. He is, how- 
ever, not aware of the existence of any 
recent book that presents the subject for 
the common people in such a way that 
they may apprehend with clearness the 
teaching of the Bible. Those that have 
written, have either done so from a 
•controversial standpoint, or have gone 
so deep into the intricacies of the dead 
languages, that many have failed to ob 
tain the salient points and the direct 
teaching of God's Word. 

It is not proposed to enter largely 
into controversy or to mystify in the 
'explanation of Greek terms, but to set 



IV PREFACE. 

forth, in as clear a way as possibley 
the plain declarations of the Scriptures,> 
so that all may see and understand. 
This is not to say that the languages in 
which the books of the Bible were or- 
iginally written are not to be consid- 
ered. 

The author does not claim original- 
it3^, but has freely appropriated the 
thoughts, and sometimes also the words 
of others. He has made use especially 
of the following works, ^' Dale on Bap- 
tism," '^Hodge's Systematic Theology," 
'' Burnett on the XXXIX Articles," 
'' Creed and Customs," '' Lange's Com- 
mentary," ^'Smith on Baptism," ''But- 
ler^s Bible Work." With the hope of 
doing much good, and a prayer that 
the Lord will both own and bless it to 
his glory, it is sent out to the church. 

J. J. L. 



PART I. 



What is Baptism ? 



What is Baptism ? 



^^ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations , {make 
disciples of all nations,) baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I 
am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world.'' Matt. B8 : 19, 20. 



BAPTISM is a sacrament, a holy 
visible sign and seal, appointed of 
God, that he may more fully de- 
clare and seal to ns the promise of 
the gospel, namelj^, that he grants unto 
us freely the remission of sin and life 
eternal for the sake of that one sacri- 
fice of Christ accomplished on the cross. 
7 



8 -Treatise on Baptism, 

It is not of human origin nor insti- 
tuted by man, but appointed of God. 

Baptism is a solemn rite for receiv- 
ing man by formal initiation into the 
covenant or promise of God's free grace, 
thus securing to him a right to the 
favors of God. It is the sign of the 
New Testament, as circumcision was the 
sign of the Old Testament, by which 
God sees lit to confer and make over 
to the believing disciple, without any 
human merit or help, the grace prom- 
ised of God in the gospel of Christ 
Jesus. 

The sacrament of baptism was insti- 
tuted after our Lord's resurrection from 
the dead and immediately before his 
ascension to heaven. It was a most 
solemn commission given to the apostles 
and their successors from the lips of 
the Savior, to go into all the world and 



What is Ba2)tism f 9 

make disciples by baptizing them into 
the name of the Trinity. All the bap- 
tisms before this were not Christian 
baptism. In the Old Testament we read 
of many washings and purifications by 
water. These the apostle in the Epistle 
to the Hebrews calls baptisms. Heb. 
yi. 2. John's baptism was of this na- 
ture; for we learn that those who were 
at Ephesus, having been baptized with 
John's baptism, were re-baptized by the 
apostles, '^ in the name of the Lord 
Jesus^ Christian baptism as we have 
it in the church now, was first admin- 
istered on the day of Pentecost, when 
three thousand souls were added to the 
church by this divine rite. 

Baptism takes the place of circumci- 
sion. Before the day of Pentecost the 
rite by which the Jews were initiated 
into the covenant and church of God 



10 Treatise on Baptism, 

was circumcision. In this rite the Jew, 
or those who came from the Gentile 
nations, had signed and sealed to them 
the grace of God— receiving a most sac- 
red and precious promise from God, that 
he would be unto them a refuge, a 
helper and a Savior. 

Baptism is a condition of salvation. 
The commission is clear and plain on 
this, '' He that believeth and is bap- 
tized shall be saved; he that believeth 
not shaH be damned." It is one of 
the channels through which God saves. 
Some there are that make it the only 
channel, the only way, the only means, 
but this is evidently wrong, for then 
the Savior would no longer be the only 
Savior. Nothing else, then, would be 
required for our salvation, no prayer, 
no reading of the word, no Lord's Sup- 
per, no faithful continuing in well-do- 



What is Baptism f 11 

ing. Baptism is necessary because of 
the command of Christ, as many other 
things and duties are necessary. We 
have the same principle in confessing- 
Christ. " Whosoever shall confess me 
before men, him will I confess before 
my Father in heaven, but whoso shall 
deny me before men, him will I denjr 
before my Father in heaven." " If thon 
ghalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart 
that God hath raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved; for with 
the heart man believeth unto righteous- 
ness, and with the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation." Confessing Christ 
does not make a man a Christian, but 
it is the public declaration and avowal 
that he is such. A confession of Christ 
is a sacred duty for every disciple, a 
most estimable privilege to all who have 



12 Treatise on Baptism, 

come out of the world, and a pious 
dictate of gratitude to him who has re- 
deemed and saved, w^hich can in no 
wise be repressed by the faithful and 
humble disciple of Jesus. In like man- 
ner is it as to the duty and privilege 
of baptism. No one can refuse to obey 
Ohrist, to show hearty loyalty and grat- 
itude for the gracious favor and bless- 
ing of salvation. The Lord intends not 
only to save men by the renewing of 
the Holy Ghost, but also form and con- 
stitute, — gather, defend and preserve, a 
visible church. To all those entering 
this militant church, by a confession of 
his name and acceptance of him as 
Lord and Savior, he has appointed this 
outward initial sign of baptism by which 
they should be distinguished from oth- 
ers. It was so in the Old Testament 
When God determined to organize Abra- 



What is Baptism ? 13 

ham and his descendants into a visible 
church, he appointed circumcision to be 
the sign of the covenant. By this they 
were to be distinguished, and all who- 
were made proselytes to the faith of 
Abraham from surrounding heathen na- 
tions had to submit to this rite. It is 
even so now in society. No foreigner 
can receive the benefits and protection^ 
as well as exercise the right of citizen- 
ship at the polls, unless he is ready 
and willing to take the oath of alle- 
giance and be naturalized. When any 
one is elected to an office of trust, he 
is solemnly inaugurated by the oath of 
office. Now this oath does not make 
him what he is by election, and yet it 
is necessary, and without it he can not 
hold the office and perform its functions- 
and duties. In like manner baptism 
does not make a Christian, it is the 



14 Treatise on Baptism. 

appointed means of declaring that he 
is such — it is his badge — it secures for 
him the privileges and blessings of the 
•church on earth, and it is a pledge on 
the part of God, if sincere and faith- 
ful in the use of all the means of 
grace, he shall be partaker of all the 
inestimable benefits and blessings of 
Christ's redemptive work. Without bap- 
tism, ordinarily, he can not have these. 
It is true that God may have other 
means by which he can make to men 
these gifts, but of them we know noth- 
ing, he has not been pleased to reveal 
them, hence we are bound to the means 
the gracious God has been pleased to 
give and reveal. Without them we can 
not hope for salvation. Without them 
we would be like the tempest-tossed 
mariner in a dark and cloudy night, 
without chart or compass, when no star 



What is Baptism f 15 

shone out from the heavens to guide 
him to a haven of safety and security. 
Baptism is a sacred duty. All who 
wish to be disciples of the meek and 
lowly Jesus, and w^ho wish to manifest 
his spirit of obedience, are bound to be 
baptized. This word duty is a solemn 
word, and should not be regarded light- 
ly by anyone. If it were not necessary 
to have this outward pledge and sign, 
the Lord would not have commanded 
it. We must do things as the Lord 
directs and appoints, for his ways are 
not our ways, and his thoughts not our 
thoughts. If he commanded the apos- 
tles to baptize all, then he commanded 
all to be baptized willingly and cheer- 
fully. To refuse to receive this ordin- 
ance of his appointment is to refuse to 
be saved by Christ, which is to refuse 
to be saved at all, for there is none 



16 Treatise on Baptism. 

other name under heaven given to men 
by which they must be saved than the 
name of Jesus Christ. So the apostles 
understood it. On the day of Pentecost, 
when the conditions of salvation were 
first set forth before the people, it was 
declared, ''repent and be baptized, every 
one of you." When Philip preached in 
Samaria, '' all who believed were bap- 
tized." The eunuch reading the prophe- 
cy of Isaiah concerning him who should 
come as the deliverer and Savior, 
learned even from that prophet the 
duty and necessity of being baptized, 
hence made request of Philip to have 
the rite performed in accordance with 
the declaration of the iDrophet, (Isa. lii. 
15), and thus be received by formal 
initiation to the rights and benefits of 
Christ's kingdom. As soon as Cornelius 
received the Holy Ghost, Peter ordered 



What is BcqMsm ? 17 

that water be brought that he and all 
his should be baptized. When Ananias 
came to Paul while he was in dark- 
ness and praying, he laid his hands 
uj)on him, and told him to arise and 
be baptized. As soon as the jailor be- 
lieved, he and all his were baptized,, 
and so of the different instances where 
men turned from their sins and believed 
in Christ, the invariable custom was to 
baptize them. This was also the uni- 
versal practice of the Christian church 
in all ages and in all parts of the 
world. Church history bears no uncer- 
tain testimony to this truth and to this 
important duty. Wherever the church 
was organized, there also this rite was 
solemnly attended to, both by those in 
authority and those who entered the 
number of the elect. All the church 

fathers regarded this external washing 

2 



18 Treatise on Baptism, 

with water as universally obligatory. 
Those who look upon it as meaningless 
and unimportant, do so contrary to the 
teachings and practice of all the apos- 
tles ajid the true church in all ages 
and lands. 

Baptism has great advantage. " What 
advantage then hath the Jew? Or what 
profit is there of circumcision? Much 
every way; chiefly because unto them 
were committed the oracles of God." 
Eom. iii. 1, 2. If the apostle could 
find so much advantage and benefit in 
the sign and seal of the old covenant, 
is there not much more in the new of 
our Lord Jesus Christ? To the Jew it 
signified the redemption yet to be com- 
pleted in the promised Messiah, to the 
Christian the work that has been accom- 
plished, in the pardon and forgiveness 
as well as the washing away of sins 



What is Baptism ? . 19 

l)y the blood and spirit of Jesus Christ. 
Baptism is a great honor and dis- 
tinction. We prize the least token of 
regard and friendship from earthly 
friends and loved ones; surely this 
mark of favor from the Savior, our un- 
seen friend, is dearer and more pre- 
<5ious. Those that are baptized are 
members of the visible church. This is 
a divine organization and institution, 
and shall we hold it a light thing to 
belong to the very treasure - house of 
Ood on earth? We feel honored and 
benefited by belonging to the different 
human organizations into which we are 
received by signs and tokens of friend- 
ship, truth and love, and from which 
we receive temporal blessings and ad- 
vantages, but in the church we receive 
something for the soul — food to nourish 
it, water to quench its thirstings and 



20 Treatise on Baptism, 

longings, beautifully represented in sign& 
and symbols appointed of God to be 
bearers of grace to the contrite spirit 
and broken heart. The Jew truly had 
great and manifold privileges above all 
the Gentile nations, but the Christian^ 
oh! how infinitely more has he than 
the Jew or Gentile! All admit that it 
is a great blessing to be born in a 
Christian instead of heathen land. Who 
can not see clearly that it is a rich, 
divine blessing to be in the church and 
not in the world? It is good to have 
the promises and pledges we made at 
the altar upon us. It is good to be 
under the fostering care and nurture of 
God's church; to have an interest and 
claim upon the prayers of God's peo- 
ple, to be of the number of those to 
whom God has made special promise 
of favor, of grace, and of salvation. 



What is Baptism ? 21 

^^For the promise is unto you and your 
children." What promise ? '' I will be 
a God unto you and your children." 
A fearful and awful sin is it to neglect 
so important a duty to oneself and to 
the children the Lord has graciously 
given. Do have your name with those 
of your offspring placed in the Lamb's 
book of life. How careful and intense- 
ly concerned are men to see that they 
and their children's names are enrolled 
for earthly treasures and pleasures! 
How much more concerned ought they 
to be for heavenly and priceless treas- 
ures and delights in the kingdom of 
our Father? 

Baptism is a means of grace. It is 
one of the means or instruments through 
and by which the application of the 
atonement is made to the believer, this, 
of course, through the w^ork of the Holy 



22 Treatise on Baptism,. 

Ghost, who is the Mediator of grace, 
convincing the world of sin, teaching 
it, guiding it in the way of all truth, 
and helping it by the use of those or- 
dinances which the Lord has appointed. 
Here, especially, is baptism a sign, or 
that which signifies the great truths 
that the soul is cleansed from the guilt 
of sin by the sprinkling of the blood 
of Christ, and purified by the renewing 
of the Holy Ghost, which is shed on- 
us abundantly. The water is not the 
cleansing or renewing power. Baptism 
is not the Savior, but it is a sign and 
instrument by which the one sacrifice 
of Christ, which is the ground and hope 
and only surety of salvation, is made 
over to us as believers. God declares 
to us in this sacrament that which he 
promises in the gospel. It is an em- 
blem expressive of the fact that a& 



What is Baptism ? 23 

wa*er cleanses the body from its pollu- 
tions and filthiness, so does the blood 
of Jesus Christ cleanse our souls from 
the stain and corrupting influences of 
sin. God frequently uses emblems by 
which he offers, exhibits and confers 
his gracious benefits and divine bless- 
ings. Thus he did in the case of the 
Israelites when he delivered them out 
of Egyptian bondage, in the appoint- 
ment of the Passover feast. In the 
lamb slain and eaten, in their posture 
while eating, in the sprinkling of the 
blood on the posts of the doors, and 
in all the sacred service of that most 
impressive feast, God taught them and 
declared and fitted them for their de 
liyerance as clearly and plainly and 
more significantly than in the written 
or spoken words of Moses. 

Baptism is a pledge. Christ has given 



24 Treatise on Baptism, 

this sacrament as an assurance that he 
will perform all that he has promised. 
It reminds us constantly of that which 
he has done and what he will yet do 
for all who entrust into his care and 
keeping their salvation and complete 
redemption of both soul and hod^y. He 
has promised and he will also perform 
it. As certainly as water washes away 
the filth of the body, so certainly will 
he cleanse us from sin. Receiving this 
pledge with reverence and faith, we 
confidently rely upon the Savior to 
accomplish all for us that he promises. 
And though, like Peter, we may not 
now fully know what he doeth, yet we 
shall know hereafter. The promise and 
pledge we have — the fulfillment will just 
as surely and certainly be ours. 

Baptism is a representation of the 
new birth — resieneration. When Nico- 



What is Baptism ? 25 

demus, a ruler of the Jews, came to 
Jesus by night, this great heaven fact 
was the burden of their conversa- 
tion. Jesus teaches him that a man 
must be born again to see the king- 
dom of God, that he must be born of 
water and the Spirit if he should enter 
that kingdom. "Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, except a man be born of 
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter 
into the kingdom of God." John iii. 5. 
Now this same truth, though stated in 
different language, was taught to the 
pious Jew. In the prophecy of Ezekiel 
xxxvi. 25-27, w^e have in one group all 
the leading ideas found in these words 
of Christ to Nicodemus: ''Then will I 
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye 
shall be clean; from all your filthiness, 
and from all your idols, will I cleanse 
you. A new heart also will I give 



26 Treatise on Baptism. 

you, and a new spirit will I put with- 
in you ; and I will take away the 
stony heart out of your flesh, and I 
will give you a heart of flesh. And I 
will put my spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, and 
ye shall keep my judgments and do 
them." First, '^ water," clean water, 
cleansing water — sprinkled and cleans 
ing from all moral filthiness. Next, 
" the new heart and the new spirit " 
given, which is regeneration or the new 
birth. Lastly, the recognition of the 
" spirit of God " as the Supreme Agents 
whose work is set forth by the symbol 
of cleansing water, but which really 
gives the ''new heart" and insures the 
new moral life. "I will put my spir- 
it within you, and cause you to walk 
in my statutes." The fact that Jesus 
should mention '' water," would natural- 



What is Baptism ? 27 

ly suggest to Nicodemus, who was well 
versed in the writings of Moses and the 
prophets, this very passage in Ezekiel 
— not to say also numerous other pas- 
sages in the Old Testament in whick 
water symbolizes the Spirit's agency in 
the hearts of men. This explains suffi- 
ciently why Jesus puts "water" first 
in order, also why he names it once, 
and once only, ^. 6., not as being itself 
one of the agents in regeneration, but. 
as suggesting the Old Testament pas- 
sages which speak of the Spirit under 
the symbol of water. 

In baptism, as practiced by the his- 
torical churches, we have then a most 
expressive representation of that won- 
derful and mysterious work which takes 
place within the heart of man through 
the operation of the Holy Ghost. Thi& 
the apostle Paul plainly declares in his- 



28 Treatise on Baptism. 

epistle to Titus: "But after that the 
kindness and love of God our Savior 
toward man appeared, not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but 
according to his mercy he saved us, 
by the washing of regeneration, and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he 
^hed on us abundantly through Jesus 
Christ our Savior; that being justified 
by his grace, we should be made heirs 
according to the hope of eternal life." 
Titus iii. 4-7. 



PART II. 



Who is to be Baptized ? 



Who is to be Baptized ? 



^Repent and he baptized every one of you, in the 
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy. Ghost. 
For the promise is unto you, and to your chil- 
dren, and to all that are afar off, even as many 
as the Lord our God shall call.^^ Acts 2: 88, 



THE design and purpose of baptism 
we have briefly considered. We 
learned that it is a holy, visible 
sign and seal appointed of God to more 
fully declare unto us the promise of 
the gospel; that he grants us freely the 
remission of sin and life eternal for the 
sake of that one sacrifice of Christ 

offered for us on the cross, becoming 

31 



32 Treatise on Baptism. 

to us a means of grace, or instrument 
through and by which the blessings of 
the salvation of God are sacramentally 
made over to us. We come now to 
consider the question, "Who is to be 
baptized?" The answer to this question 
is determined by the design and pur- 
pose of the ordinance, as well as the 
teaching of Christ and practice of the 
apostles in the establishment of the 
Christian church on earth. 

Baptism, as we learn from the com- 
mission of the Savior to the apostles^ 
was for all nations, on condition of re- 
pentance of sins and hearty faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ. This, the apos- 
tle Peter, on the day of Pentecost, also 
declared when he, in answer to the 
question put to him and the rest of 
the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we 
do?" replied, "Eepent ye and be bap- 



Who is to le Baptized? 33 

tizecl, every one of you, in the name 
of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of 
your sins. For to you is the promise, 
and to your children, and to all that 
are afar oiF, even as many as the Lord 
our God shall call unto him." This on 
the part of adults is an intelligent vol- 
untary act, which involves a profession 
of faith in Christ, and a promise of 
faithful allegiance and service in his 
cause and kingdom. No one who is 
not willing to confess Christ, forsake 
sin, and lead a godly and honest life^ 
as well as give heart and hand to the 
work of saving souls and building up 
the church, can lay claim to this divine 
mark of distinction and sign and seal 
of salvation. 

The apostles also point to another 
class to whom baptism is to be admin- 
istered — ''''and to yoitr childrenP There 



34 Treatise on Baptism, 

are many who deny this rite to infants, 
and who, as they claim, can not see 
that they are entitled to this ordinance 
of God's grace. Hence, it will be 
necessary to explain this more fully, 
and endeavor clearly to set the subject 
before the mind of the reader. If those 
who have denied the right of the 
church, as well as have called its pro- 
Ijriety into question, to baptize children, 
will follow closely the scriptural grounds 
which w^e will present, they will not 
fail at least to see why the church 
has done so, if they themselves will 
not be convinced of the necessity of it. 
One of the oldest standards of faith, 
w^ritten in 1563 by Ursinus and Olevian- 
us, two of the most learned and pious 
men of the Reformation period, in an- 
swer to the question: "Are infants also 
to be baptized?" says, '•Yes, for since 



Who is to ie Baptized f 35 

they, as well as adults, are included in 
the covenant and church of God; and 
since redemption from sin by the blood 
of Christ and the Holy Ghost, the au 
thor of faith, is promised to them no 
less than to the adult; they must, there- 
fore, by baptism, as a sign of the cov- 
enant, be also admitted into the Chris- 
tian church; and be distinguished from 
the children of infidels; as was done in 
the Old Covenant or Testament by cir- 
cumcision, instead of which baptism 
was instituted in the new covenant." 
This is a plain and explicit answer, 
setting forth the teaching of the Bible, 
and breathing the gracious Spirit of 
Jesus our divine Lord, who said with 
great kindness and solicitude, '' Sufi'er 
the little children to come unto me, 
and forbid them not, for of such is the 
kingdom of God." 



36 Treatise on Baptism, 

It will be well to consider the objec- 
tions commonly made against the prac- 
tice of infant baptism. 

The writer has often heard the objec- 
tion that infants can not exercise faith;, 
therefore, they ought not be baptized.. 
It is dilficult to determine what faith 
in all its essentials includes. They cam 
exercise some kind of faith and trust. 
The infant of a few days knows its owrk 
mother from all other women and will 
confide in her. Besides this we have^ 
the clear statement and testimony oi 
Christ that they do believe in him^, 
^'And whoso shall receive one such lit- 
tle child in my name, receiveth me^, 
but whoso shall off*end one of these- 
little ones which believe in me, it were: 
better for him that a millstone were^ 
hanged about his neck, and that he 
were drowned in the depths of the- 



Who is to he Baptized? 37 

«ea." Matt, xviii. 5, 6. It will not 
avail for anyone to say that Jesus had 
jio reference to little children, but to 
adults who were believers, for it is 
'directly stated previous, that Jesus took 
a little child and set it in the midst 
-of them. Jesus knew what was in man, 
and made no mistake when he attri- 
buted faith to infants whether they 
were conscious of it or not. This 
objection would be fatal against the 
^salvation of infants, for according to 
this reasoning they cannot believe, and 
*^ he that lelieveth not shall he damned,'^'' 
This, no sound-minded person will 
maintain, but will rather take Christ at 
Jiis word, though not able fully to un- 
derstand and comprehend the deep 
mystery of faith in the heart of the 
child. 

Then again, we often hear people 



38 Treatise on Baptism, 

say, '' what do infants know about bap- 
tism?" ''What good does baby sprink- 
ling do?" We answer, the child doe& 
not know very much about it, but wo 
contend that the power and grace of 
the Almighty is not limited. Grod can^ 
and does, sign and seal his grace and 
love and mercy and adoption without 
their knowledge. If they die, he can^ 
and will save them without their con- 
scious knowledge of it, so far as we 
know. The Lord commanded Jewish 
infants of eight days old to be circum- 
cised. They knew no more and re- 
ceived no greater benefit than the 
children of Christian parents when they 
are baptized. ''They were circumcised, 
nevertheless, and received the " seal of 
the righteousness of the faith which he 
had," circumcision. It is dangerous irk 
the extreme to oppose God's express 



Who is to he Baptized? 39 

command with reference to a most sol- 

emn ordinance of the Old Testament, 

as well as of baptism, which was given 

instead of circumcision. Rev. Joseph 

Parker, D. D., of London, England, 

speaking of the covenant which God 

made with Abraham and his posterity, 

says, "One wonders what notice God 

will take of young life; will he say, 

' Suffer little children to come unto 

me,' or will he shut them out of his 

view until they become great men? 

Is a child beneath God's notice? 

Is it much 

Too small a gem 

For his diadem 

Whose kingdom is made of such? 

Listen to the covenant: 'He that is 
eight days old shall be circumcised 
among you.' What an oversight on the 
part of the Lord not to observe that a 



40 Treatise on Baptism, 

child eight days old could not under- 
stand what it was about! What a 
waste of piety to baptize an infant of 
days, when it can not understand 
what you are doing to it! It cries, 
poor thing; therefore, how ridiculous to 
baptize it ! It plucks the preacher's 
gown, or chuckles and coos in the 
preacher's arms; therefore, how absurd 
to admit it into the covenant! For 
myself, let me say, that when I bap- 
tize a child I baptize life — human life 
— life redeemed by the Son of God. 
The infant is something more than an 
infant, it is humanity, it is an heir of 
Christ's immortality. If there be any 
who can laugh at an infant and mock 
its weakness, they have no right to 
baptize and consecrate it, and give so 
mean a thing to God. God himself 
baptizes only the great trees, does he 



Who is to he Baptised? 41 

ever baptize a daisy? He enriches 
Bashan with rain, but did he ever hang 
the dew of the morning on the shrink- 
ing rose? Account for it as you please, 
Ood did appoint circumcision for the 
€hild eight days old. Christian baptism 
is founded on this very covenant. 
Abraham was ninety and nine years 
old when he was circumcised, Ishmael 
his son was thirteen years old, and 
then came the infant men-children. 
So in heathen countries, the man is 
baptized, and the woman, and the child 
of days. We plead divine precedent. 
Whatever objections stand against bap- 
tism, stand against circumcision, and 
therefore stand against God. The child 
does not understand the alphabet, do 
not teach it; the child does not under- 
stand language, do not teach it; the 
€hild does not understand the Lord's 



42 Treatise on Baptism, 

prayer, do not teach it. You say, the 
child will understand by and by; ex- 
actly so; that answer is good; and by 
and by the child will understand that 
it was baptized in the name of the 
Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, three persons in one God." 

If children were excluded from their 
rights because they did not know or 
understand, then in the domestic and 
political world they would suffer much 
loss. They are, without their knowl- 
edge, made and constituted heirs of 
estates, by covenants and deeds signed 
and sealed in their name on their be 
half by their natural guardians or con- 
stituted authority. Hence, if they can 
have sponsors in the transaction of this 
life, they can in that which makes 
them heirs of immortality. 

God declares from of old, in his 



Who is to le Baptized? 43 

Word, that they are capable of being 
entered into covenant with him. Here 
is the testimony of Scripture, Gen. 
xvii. 7: ''I will establish my covenant 
between me and thee, and thy seed 
after thee in their generations, for an 
everlasting covenant, to be a God unto 
thee and thy seed after thee." Deut. 
XXX. 10, 11: ''You stand this day, all 
of you, before the Lord your God; 
your captains, your elders, and your 
oflScers, with all the men, and your 
little ones, your wives — that thou 
shouldst enter into covenant with the 
Lord thy God, and into his oath." 
Now, what did these " little ones " 
know of the covenant? No more nor 
less than children that are baptized^ 
Yet they had to be there, and received 
the same blessing and promise as the 
rest that were gathered in that vast 



44 Treatise on Baptism, 

assembly. In Numbers iii. 28, we find 
the infant Levites placed on the roll 
with adults in the '' duties of the 
sanctuary." '^In the number of all the 
males from a month old and upwards, 
were eight thousand and six hundred, 
ieeping the charge of the sanctuary." 
This is a remarkable declaration con- 
"Cerning these young children. Pray, 
Avhat could an infant of a month old 
know or do in "keeping the charge of 
the sanctuary ? " Just about as much 
as a child knows about its baptism. 
Turn now to Joel ii. 15, 16 : '' Blow the 
trumpet in Zion; call a solemn assem- 
Wy; gather the congregation; assemble 
the elders. QatJier the children and 
and those that suck at the hreastsP 
Why gather the children and those that 
suck at the breasts to an assembly and 
to a feast when they know not why. 



Who is to he Baptized? 45- 

and can not understand its meaning ? 
However, they knew no more nor les&^ 
than children and those that suck at 
the breasts know to-day, when they are 
brought into the solemn assembly of 
the congregation, and there solemnly 
dedicated and given to the Lord in 
holy baptism. Children are just as^ 
capable of receiving the free grace of 
salvation as are adults, hence, they are 
also to receive the sign and seal of 
that grace in Christ, which is baptism. 
To them, no less than the adult, come 
the benefits of Christ's nativity, nay, 
by it he sanctified childhood, life of 
obedience and suffering, his passion in 
the garden of Gethsemane, his bitter 
and accursed death on the cross, his 
burial, resurrection, his ascension and. 
most efficacious intercession at the 
throne of the Father, hence, they neei 



46 Treatise on Baptism. 

the ordinance which seals and assures 
to them all these glorious and unspeak- 
able benefits. 

It is objected, ••' there is no direct 
command to baptize infants in the New 
Testament." There is absolutely no 
need for this, even if the assertion was 
true that there is no command to bap- 
tize them. Their membership in the 
church and covenant of God never was 
annulled, and they are entitled to the 
" seal of the righteousness by faith," 
whether by circumcision or baptism, as 
Peter declared on the day of Pentecost, 
'^for the promise is unto you and to 
your children." What would the Jews 
have said if Peter would have said. 
Repent ye and be baptized, everyone 
of you, but let your children go till 
they get old enough to understand, 
since there is no direct command to 



Who is to ie Baptized f 47 

baptize them. The Jews, no doubt, 
would have replied, we have something 
better than that, the covenant into 
which God entered with Abraham and 
his descendants includes us and our 
children who receive the "seal of the 
righteousness by faith which was in 
him," and this covenant was renewed 
again and again. This mode of argu- 
ment, which objectors to infant baptism 
constantly use, would be fatal to many 
of the practices and customs of the 
church. ''Let a man examine himself^ 
and so let Mm eat." Is not a woman 
also? Where is the explicit and direct 
command that a woman shall eat the 
Lord's Supper? It can not be found; 
neither was a woman present at the 
institution of that Supper, yet no reas- 
onable person would presume that wo- 
men, who received so many and gra- 



48 Treatise on Baptism, 

cious favors from the Lord, and who 
ministered to him while engaged in his 
work of mercy, should not show forth 
his death until he come, by partaking 
of the broken bread and cup of bless- 
ing. There is^ however,, just as impli- 
cit command to haptize children as 
adults. Let anyone read the commis- 
sion carefully and from an impartial 
standpoint, and he will find that it i& 
very positive on this matter. Matt, 
xxviii. 19: "Go ye therefore and teach^ 
or make disciples, of all nations, bap- 
tizing them " — baptizing whom ? Why 
'' nations^ Where does it say adults ? 
There is not a word in the commission 
that means adults more than infants. 
All "nations" are made up of adults, 
and children. Now turn to Acts ii. 38,, 
39: "Repent and be baptized, every one 
of you^ includes adults and children^ 



W/w is to be Baptized? 49 

for Pe*er explains it as meaning just 
that — ''for the promise is to you and 
your children." It must be the blind- 
ness of bigotry and stupidity that can 
not see, both in the commission of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and the inimitable 
sermon of Peter on the day of Pente- 
cost, that children are to have the gra- 
cious sign and seal of redemption 
through our adorable Savior, Jesus 
Christ. 

It is objected, ''many infants bap- 
tized never are confirmed, and grow up 
to be bad men and women." That this 
is so no one denies, and it is a mat- 
ter of deep and heartfelt regret and 
sorrow, but that it is a valid argument 
and reason for not baptizing children, 
we are not ready to admit. As well, 
and with more reason, refuse to baptize 

adults, for it is a lamentable fact that 
4 



50 Treatise on Baptism. 

many of these, after making a profes- 
sion of faith, and receiving baptism, do 
not continue in well-doing. The writer 
knows of many so-called revivals, where 
scores of adults made loud and long 
profession of faith, and they were bap- 
tized, and yet they neither adorned 
their confession nor continued steadfast 
in well-doing, but went back to the 
beggarly elements of the world. Why 
not, according to the objector's mode of 
reasoning, henceforth and forever refuse 
to baptize adults? It is sheer folly to 
attempt to make reasonable persons 
believe that this is a reason for not 
baptizing children. These objections, 
any and all of them^ are the manifest- 
ation of that spirit of bitter opposition 
shown to our divine Lord and King 
when he triumphantly rode into Jeru- 
salem amidst the acclaims and joyous 



WJiO is to he Baptized? 51 

«ongs of his followers; and when he 
was so gloriously welcomed into the 
temple by the children, crying and say- 
ing, '^Hosanna to the Son of David.'' 
Then^ too^ objectors came forth with 
great displeasure, and said unto him, 
^' Hearest thou what these say ? " and 
then rising in his dignity and a look 
of scorn, he answered, as we answer 
all objectors to infant baptism, '^ Yea; 
have ye never read^ out of the mouth 
of lales and sucklings thou hast per- 
fected praise ? " Matt. xxi. 16, Ps. viii. 
% Let those who can not see faith, 
and obedience, and love in little chil- 
dren, ponder and pray over these words 
of him who spake as never man spake^ 
and taught as never man taught, and 
they will never open lip again to utter 
one word against infant baptism — world 
without end. Amen. 



52 Ireatise on Baptism, 

But we do not end with answering 
objections to this Bible doctrine, but 
will proceed now to consider the posi- 
tive arguments and reasons for admit- 
ting children to the rights of church 
membership. 

Children have a depraved nature, and 
are under condemnation. The only way 
of deliverance from this sad natural 
state is through regeneration — they must 
be born again, of water and the Spir- 
it. Salvation is provided for them and 
guaranteed to them through the atone- 
ment of Jesus Christ, which extends to 
them redemption and deliverance from 
the curse of Adam's sin, of which the 
whole human race, infants and adults^ 
are partakers. If they have thus been 
redeemed, and a sacrifice offered for 
them as well as adults, they ought to 
receive the appointed sign and seal 



Who is to he Baptized? 53 

of that salvation, which is baptism 
in the name of the Father, and the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost. 

The Savior, on several occasions, 
teaches that unless "Ye become like 
little children, ye can in no wise enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." This was 
essentially the same that he taught 
Nicodemus. He could not see the king- 
dom of God except '^a man be born 
again," and could not enter except he 
*'was born of water and the Spirit." 
I^ow, if men or adults are to become 
like little children to become fit sub- 
jects of baptism, then, most assuredly, 
little children are " like little cJiildren^^ 
for they cannot be like anybody else, 
must be fit subjects for that holy and 
sacred ordinance of God's kingdom and 
church. Children of believing parents, 
all right thinking persons admit, are 



54 Treatise on Baptism. 

entitled to be members of the churchy 
and hence are entitled to that ordinance 
by which they are distinguished from 
others. Now this certainly was the case 
with the Israelitish children when they 
were received by the ordinance of cir- 
cumcision. The condition of entering in- 
to the old and new dispensations are the 
same. The one is by faith, so, also, the 
other. Abraham's faith was counted 
unto him his righteousness, but so, also^ 
the infant children that received the 
same sign and seal of their faith — cir- 
cumcision. Circumcision, in its deep 
and spiritual meaning, was of the heart. 
Baptism is also not only of water 
applied to the body, but the washing 
of the soul by the blood and Spirit of 
Christ. 

Where this rite is despised and neg- 
lected, the idea of the family is lost 



Who IS to he Baptized? 55 

sight of. The first church was the fam- 
ily. From the beginning to the end of 
the world, out of the whole human 
family, Christ gathers, defends, and pre- 
serves to himself a church. The family 
in the church and the church in the 
family, is the divine idea. Suppose 
parents who are solicitous concerning 
the spiritual welfare of their children, 
make solemn request to the church for 
membership. They would present them- 
selves before the altar, leading by the 
hand and carrying on their arms their 
children, they would say, '^Behold, we 
and the children whom the Lord hath 
given.'' But now they are told we can 
receive you as adidts^ but ^' the chil- 
dren, let them go till they get old 
enough to understand these things, and 
till they can choose for themselves.'' 
By right they could turn their faces 



56 Treatise on Baptism, 

away and hide them in shame and sor- 
row, that ''the fruit of the womb which 
the Lord hath blessed,'' and that these 
little helpless ''lambs of the flock" 
should be turned out upon the barren 
wastes and deserts of the world — nay; 
with contempt and scorn they could 
reasonably say, even the world is wiser 
in its day and generation than the 
children of light, for even the state 
counts as citizen, and protects, cares, 
and provides for the little children. 
With right and with rejoicing would 
parents seek a church that recognized 
the family, God's institution and ordin- 
ance, and there, with their children, 
find a home. By the gracious teaching 
of the Savior, Christian parents know 
children are members of the kingdom, 
for he said, "of such is the kingdom." 
If they are fit to be members of the 



Who is to he Baptized? 57 

church triumphant in heaven, as we all 
believe they are, then are ihey fit to 
be members of the church militant on 
earth. Then the mercy and condescen- 
sion of God includes and embraces 
children. When he speaks of the glory 
of Christ's church and kingdom on 
earth, through the prophet Isaiah, in 
rapturous tones he says, ^^ Behold the 
Lord God will come; he shall feed his 
Hocks like a shepherd; he shall gather 
the larribs with his arms and carry them 
in his hosomP Isa. xl. 11. How liter- 
ally was this fulfilled in Christ. He 
called himself the " good Shepherd,'' he 
called little children unto himself and 
said, " Sufffer the little children to come 
unto me, and forbid them not, for of 
such is the kingdom of God;" '' laying 
his hands upon them and blessed them." 
To Peter he gave his last charge, '^feed 



58 Treatise on Baptism, 

my lambs." What this, but the work 
of the church to gather the little ones, 
to initiate them into the covenant and 
church of God, and then train them in 
the family and in the church for the 
honor and glory of God, that they may 
rightly know God, heartilj^ serve him, 
and glorify and praise him in eternity. 
Truly need they be taught their only 
comfort in life and death. That in 
body and soul, in life and in death, 
they belong unto their faithful Savior, 
Jesus Christ, who hath fully satisfied 
for all their sins, and delivered them 
from the power of the devil; and so 
preserves them that, without the will 
of their heavenly Father, not a hair 
can fall from their heads; yea, that all 
things must be subservient to their 
salvation ; and, therefore, by his Holy 
Spirit, he also assures them of eternal 



Who is to he Baptized? 59 

life, and makes them sincerely willing 
and ready henceforth to live unto him. 
Children are the recipients of the bap- 
tism of the Holy Ghost, hence, also 
entitled to the baptism with water. 
Samson was set apart as a Nazarite 
before his birth. Samuel ministered in 
the temple, ''being a child girded with 
a linen ephod." I. Sam. ii. 18. Of 
Jeremiah, the great and eloquent pro- 
phet, it is written : " Before I formed 
thee in .the belly I knew thee; and 
before thou camest forth out of the 
w^omb I sanctified thee, and I ordained 
thee a prophet unto the nations." Jer. 
i. 5. Of John the Baptist, in Luke i. 
41, it is written, ''And it came to pass 
that when Elizabeth heard the saluta- 
tion of Mary, the babe leaped in her 
w^omb; and Elizabeth w^as filled with 
the Holy Ghost." In verse 44, "For, 



60 Treatise on Baptism. 

lo, as soon as the voice of thy saluta- 
tion sounded in mine ears, the babe 
leaped in my womb for joy." Here 
wonders of the Spirit's operations are 
told of several before their birth. If 
he can and does influence the babe 
before birth, will he not after birth, 
when the child is solemnly dedicated 
to God's service? This is but in exact 
fulfillment to the prophecies of the 
Lord. " I will pour water upon him 
that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry 
ground; I will pour my Spirit upon 
thy seed, and my blessing upon thine 
off*spring." Isa. xliv. 3. ''I will pour 
out my Spirit upon all flesh." Joel ii. 
28. Here again are the promises of 
the Spirit's influences upon old and 
young. There is no limitation of God's 
goodness and power and grace in this 
matter. 



Who is to he Ba'ptizedf 61 

Then in this practice of infant bap- 
tism we have a strong i)roof to the 
necessity that binds us to its perform- 
ance, by the practice of the apostles 
in what are called "household bap- 
tisms." It is evident from these cases, 
in the minds of the apostles there w^as 
no doubt but that children, as well as 
adults, were to be baptized. In Acts 
xvi. 14-16, we are told of Lydia, who 
was brought under conviction through 
the preaching of Paul, and making a 
confession, ''w^as baptized and her 
household." So in the same chapter, 
33d verse, we learn that the Philippian 
jailer, after having been so wonderfully 
moved upon by the stirring events of 
the day, in the treatment of the apos- 
tles, as well as the earthquake, fell 
down at the feet of the disciples and 
asked, '^what must I do to be saved. 



62 Treatise on Baptism. 

and they said, Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, 
and thy house. And he took them the 
same hour of the night and washed 
their stripes ; and was baptized, he and 
all his, straightway." The Apostle Paul, 
speaking of the few cases of baptisms 
which he administered, tells us in I. 
Cor. i. 16, ''And I baptized also the 
household of Stephanus." Now there 
are some who wish to overcome the 
force of this argument by saying that 
there were no children in these fami- 
lies. All the worse for the objector; 
then adults were baptized on the faith 
of others, which no one believes. Hard- 
ly would the apostles limit their work 
to "households" that had no children. 
To try to deny that these are cases of 
infant baptism, is an act of ridiculous 
desperation. If this will not suflBice, we 



Who is to he Baptized f 63 

give now an instance where hundreds 
of families were baptized, men, women, 
and children. In the exodus from 
Egypt, the Israelitish host passed 
through the Red Sea on dry ground, 
the Lord having performed a miracle * 
on their behalf. The Apostle Paul, in 
I. Cor. xi. 2, calls this a baptism 
unto Moses. '^ Moreover, brethren, I 
would not that ye should be ignorant 
how that all our fathers were under 
the cloud and in the sea; and were all 
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and 
in the sea." It is stated that there 
were "over six hundred thousand, be- 
sides children and a mixed multitude." 
Here thousands of children received 
baptism with their parents and others. 
Ex. xii. 37, 38. 

Church history also bears strong tes- 
timony to the practice of infant bap- 



64 Treatise on Baptism, 

tism among the first Christians. They 
were far better prepared to say what 
was the practice of the apostles than 
people of modern times. From the 
j^ears 67-330, neither Irenaeus, Epiphan- 
ius, Philastrius, St. Augustine, nor The- 
odoret, mention anyone as denying bap- 
tism to infants. Surely if it had been 
opposed or introduced as an innovation, 
mention of so important a matter would 
not have been wanting on the part of 
those who desired to preserve the 
church in its purity, and keep it free 
from unauthorized practices. The apos- 
tolic and primitive church, as well as 
the church at present, practiced it from 
the belief that the church consisted of 
Christian parents and their children. 
Even Pelagius resents with scorn the 
idea of refusing baptism to infants. He 
says, ''^Men slander me as if I denied 



Who is to he Baptized? 65 

the sacrament of baptism to infants, I 
never heard of any,, not even the most 
impious heretic^ who denied baptism to 
infants?'^ If this man, who entered so 
prominently into the controversies of 
the early church, and was acquainted 
with its history and practice, never 
heardj of any who denied this sacra- 
ment to children, we may be sure that 
it was universally taught and practiced 
as coming down from the Savior and 
the apostles. 

No parent that has at heart the wel- 
fare of the child, will neglect so import- 
tant a privilege and duty. The great 
bane of the church to-day is the decay 
of family religion, resulting largely from 
the neglect of baptism of children and 
their early training in the way of God's 
commandments. The time was, when 
parents solemnly dedicated their chil- 



66 Treatise on Baptism. 

dren to the Lord in baptism, then 
taught them the ten commandments, 
the Lord's prayer, the creed and the 
precious doctrines of grace through Je- 
sus Christ. Then there was little diffi- 
culty in the way of the young depart- 
ing from the house and church of God. 
Who is it that does not lament from 
the heart, that so many of the young 
live without God and hope in the 
world. Let there be a faithful return 
to God's plan and way of salvation, 
and the church will have such a reviv- 
al, and receive such power and influ- 
ence from on high, as shall cause men 
everywhere to ask, ''what must I do 
to be saved," and make the desert 
places of Zion to rejoice and biossom 
as the rose. Do but have your own 
name written in the Lamb's book of 
life by repentance, faith, and baptism. 



Who is to he Baptized? 67 

Do let the little ones, ''the lambs of 
the flock," know that they are to fol- 
low the gentle Shepherd, who has 
bought and purchased them, not with 
silver and gold, but with his own pre- 
cious blood — redeemed them by his life 
and death. Having their names writ- 
ten in the Master's book, if they after- 
ward choose to erase them, the parents 
will be blameless. The very fact that 
you had their names enrolled, and had 
them baptized, may be the means of 
their salvation. The parents will feel 
more fully their obligation to bring them 
up in the nurture and fear of the Lord, 
bringing them step by step to a saving 
knowledge of Christ, and they, as they 
grow up, will feel the responsibility 
resting upon them to walk in the fear 
of the Lord, knowing that loving, and 
fond and pious parents had not only 



68 Ireatise on Baptism. 

an interest in their temporal welfare, ta 
provide food and clothing and comforts 
of this life, but took every possible 
step to lead them to the adorable Sav- 
ior, whose they are, by right of pur- 
chase and redemption. 

There is a comfort, which words can* 
not express, to every parent thus to be 
permitted to set apart and consecrate 
in the public act of baptism, the chil- 
dren the Lord has given. As the child 
grows in stature, and develops in mind 
and soul, the parents will feel that the 
vows of God are upon them, and they 
will make all possible diligence to see 
that the child is early informed of its 
relation to God and his kingdom, and 
will be brought lovingly and cheerfully 
to confess Christ, and to ratify in its 
own name, after careful training and 
instruction by parents and pastor, the^ 



Who is to he Baptized? 69 

promises and vows made in its behalf 
when unconscious of the deep and sol- 
emn act of baptism. Yea, verily, this 
consecration of a child is no meaning- 
less act, but involves much for the 
parent and the child. It changes the 
relation of the child toward God, and 
Christ, and the church. It makes it a 
citizen of God's kingdom ; it makes it 
an heir of Christ's immortality; it be- 
comes a member of the church and 
is entitled to all the sacred and blessed 
privileges the good Lord vouchsafes in 
his church, which is his body. 

And then, what an inestimable bless- 
ing and comfort to the parents, in the 
event of the death of the child. 

**0h! when a mother meets on high 

The babe she lost in infancy, 
Hath she not then, for pain and fears — 

The day of woe, the watchful night — 
For all her sorrows, all her tears — 

An overpayment of delight?^' 



70 Treatise on Baptism, 

More than one half of the human 
race die in childhood, and by far the 
greater number die before they are one 
year old. How deeply, how indelibly 
is it impressed upon the heart at the 
baptism of a child, "Of such is the 
kingdom of heaven." And when they 
die, having received the mark of dis- 
tinction in their foreheads, they are 
taken into the Father's house, heaven, 
the children's home. ''They go out of 
the world by millions every year. A 
mighty procession of redeemed little 
ones is ever moving onward into eter- 
nity, as though borne along by a river 
of tears. They leave behind them tear- 
dimmed eyes, and hungry hearts, and 
empty arms, and silent chambers, and 
desolate homes. They come to us as 
messengers of God, with musical prat- 
tle, and winsome helplessness, and lie 



Who is to he Baptized f 71 

upon our hearts for a while, until every 
tendril of affection has twined around 
them and bound them to us; then they 
are torn away and taken from us. 
This experience is as old as the race. 
From the beginning, God began to draw 
parent hearts, and to people and bright- 
en heaven by taking little children to 
himself. No man can number the vast 
multitude of little ones God has gath- 
ered out of all ages and generations. 
What a beautiful throng! Even heaven 
would seem lonely now without them, 
and the angels would wander disconso- 
late over the fields of Eden, if the 
countless hosts of glorified children 
should be suddenly removed. Christian 
parents have a rich inheritance in the 
memories of their sainted children, and 
in the living treasures laid up in heav- 
en." '^ Years ago," says Dr. W. M. Tay- 



72 Treatise on Baptism, 

lor, " When I was leaving my home to 
fulfill an engagement, the last sight on 
which my eyes rested was that of my 
little daughter at the window in her 
grandmother's arms. As the carriage 
drove me away, she waved her hand 
in fond and laughing glee, and many a 
time during my railway ride, the pleas- 
ant vision came up before my memory 
and filled my heart with joj^ I never 
saw her again! The next morning a 
telegram stunned me with the tidings 
of her death; and now the earthly 
glimpse of her has been idealized and 
glorified, and it seems to me as if God 
had set her in the window to beckon 
me upward to my eternal home. I 
would not give that memory for all 
the gold of earth. I would not part 
with the inspiration that it stirs within 
me for all the world could bestow." 



W/io is to he Baptized? 73 

Even so has God made the heavenly 
and everlasting home more attractive 
to all the bereaved whose children have 
gone up into its beautiful courts. The 
windows of our Father's house are full 
of bright child-faces, waiting for the 
coming of the loved ones from the 
earth. There is no complete household 
on earth, no family among men, that 
has not some absent one to mourn. 

^' There is no flock, however watched or tended, 

But one dead lamb is there; 
There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, 

But hath one vacant chair.'' 

Oh! parents, that you may have the 
inspiration of a heavenly vision, the 
assurance of an eternal home with your 
children, give them early to the Lord 
in the spirit of Hannah, who dedicated 
lier son, Samuel, to him, who had gra- 
ciously answered her prayer, saying, 



74 Treatise on Bajptism, 

^''For this child I prayed; and the Lord 
hath given me my petition which I 
asked of him; therefore^ also^ I have 
lent him to the Lord; as long as he 
liveth he shall he lent to the Lord,*^^ 



PART III. 

HoA¥ are we to be Baptized ? 



How are we to be Baptized ? 

^'So shall he sprinkle many nations. ^^ Isa. Hi. 15, 

^^Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and 
ye shall be clean.' \ Ezekiel xxxvi, 25. 

^'Let us draw near with a true heart in full as- 
surance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled 
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed 
ivith pure water.'' Heb. x. 22. 

^^ Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the 
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, 
unto obedience, and the sprinkling of the blood 
of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be 
multiplied." I. Peter i. 2. 



WE have in the two previous parts 
of this book endeavored to make 
plain to the reader what bap- 
tism is, and also to show who is to be 
baptized. We have yet to show how 
we are to be baptized. It is on this 

part of the subject that the greatest 

77 



78 Treatise on Baptism. 

difference of opinion exists, and con- 
cerning which there has been an infin- 
ite amount of controversy. It will 
not be too much to say that this is 
that part of the subject which is most 
unessential. It is characteristic of our 
fallen human nature to make most of 
that of which the Lord makes the least. 
It is even so in all diversified matters 
that relate to our salvation. That which 
is outward, formal, and to which the 
Savior does not attach supreme value, 
is too often our chief concern. That 
sacrament of the bread and wine, 
which ought to have been the bond by 
which all believers in Christ should be 
closely united, has been made the bone 
of contention and strife, in that men 
have desired to set forth the manner 
of Christ's presence in the communion, 
and insist upon their own peculiar ex- 



lloii^ are we to he Baptized f 79 

planation as being the only true and 
proper one. Prayer, '' the Christian's 
vital breath," has caused not a little 
strife, because some prefer to stand in- 
stead of kneel in addressing the throne 
of grace, the one having as much 
scripture in favor of his posture as the 
other. In all this, the teaching of the 
Savior is manifestly not heeded, ''first 
make the inside of the platter clean, 
that the outside may be made clean 
also." Men care often only to appear 
like whited sepulchres, beautiful with- 
out, while within they are full of rot- 
tenness and dead men's bones; or, to 
wear the garb of innocence and purity, 
while within they are like ravening 
wolves, full of treachery and destruc- 
tion. Let us therefore approach this 
subject in the spirit of the Master, 
seeking the truth as he has been 



80 Treatise on Baptism. 

pleased to reveal it, endeavoring to give 
a proper and scriptural answer to the 
question, ^'How are we to be baptized ?"^ 
According to our previous definitions, 
baptism is a washing with water. By 
washing, is meant any such application 
of water to the body as shall effect 
its purification. As baptism is a sym- 
bolical washing, representing the puri- 
fication and cleansing of the soul from 
sin, any such application of water that 
shall best symbolize and express that 
truth and fact, will be the manner in 
which we are to be baptized. The com- 
mand to baptize, is simply a command 
to wash with water with a spiritual in- 
tent. It does not specifically say how 
the water is to be applied. This must 
be determined otherwise than from the 
command itself. The application of the 
water must symbolize or affect the pol- 



How are ice to he Baptized? 81 

lution of the soul from sin by the 
blood and Spirit of Christ, for ''the 
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses ns of all 
sin." Now the idea of purification, 
cleansing from the stain of sin, is 
clearly revealed and frequently signified 
by pouring and sprinkling in the Holy 
Scriptures. 

There are many Avho, having heard 
something about the Greek word Baptizo 
from such who use it for partisan pur- 
poses, have come to the hasty conclu- 
sion that it has but one meaning, and 
that is, immerse. We hope to disabuse 
the minds of such from a grievous 
error into which they have been led 
by those who did not seek to tell the 
whole truth. While it is not the pur- 
pose of the author to enter into any 
lengthy discussion about the Greek, for 
there are not many of the common 



82 Treatise on Baptism, 

people that understand it, and he miglit 
also say not many of those who talk 
so much about Greek know much 
about it, yet he desires to say a few 
words upon this. 

In the standard Greek books, called 
the classics, this word Baptizo has var- 
ious significations. It means to dip, to 
immerge, to stain, to dye, to gild, to 
glaze, to wet, to moisten or wash, to 
temper iron, to pour upon or drench, 
to overwhelm, to sprinkle. Men are 
said to be baptized with wine, with 
opium, and with debts. Wine is said 
to be baptized bj^ having water poured 
into it. 

There is a notable case in one of 
the classics in which it is stated 
that a child's arm w^as to be baptized 
with mother's milk. There are very 
many lexicographers and writers w^ho 



Hoxi^ are ive to be Baptized? 83 

give these different meanings to the 
word, some more and some less. 

About two hundred and eighty years 
before the time of Christ, there was a 
Greek translation of the Old Testament 
called the Septuagint. In this tranla- 
lation, the word Baptize in its various 
forms is frequently used. It will be 
interesting and beneficial for all to know 
the meaning which these seventy learn- 
•ed men gave to the word when they 
used it, long before Christian baptism 
was instituted. In Daniel iv. 33, it is 
said, ''the body of Nebuchadnezzar was 
wet with the dew of heaven.'' In the 
Septuagint in the Greek it is, "His 
body was baptized with the dew of 
heaven." In Leviticus iv. 17, it says, 
"' The priest shall dip his finger in some 
of the blood," in the Greek the word 
is hapsei^ or, "He shall baptize with 



84 Treatise on Baptism. 

some of the blood." In Leviticus xiv^ 
6, ^'As for the living bird, he shall take 
it, and the cedar wood, and the hyssop,, 
and shall dip (bapsei) them and the 
living bird in the blood of the bird 
that was killed over the running water^ 
and he shall sprinkle upon him that is 
to be cleansed from the leprosy seven 
times, and shall pronounce him clean."^ 
All these things ]nentioned could not 
be immersed in the blood of a bird ;, 
and he that was cleansed was so by 
being sprinkled seven times. In Isaiah 
xxi. 4, the Septuagint reads: ''a ano- 
Vila me baptizei^^'^ iniquity baptizes me,, 
the vulgate or Latin, '' teneirae stiipefe- 
ceritnt m^," the English, "fearfulness 
affrighted me." Thus we find that 
among the ancients the word Baptizo 
was used with different meanings. 
But whatever may be the meaning: 



Hoiij are ice to he Baptized ? 85 

attached to this word in the classics or 
ancient Greek writings, we have more 
-complete evidence as to its meaning in 
the New Testament Scriptures. The 
word haiytein is used four times in the 
New Testament, other than referring to 
the sacrament of baptism in the Chris- 
tian sense, in no one of which does it 
•convey, what some suppose, the idea of 
•complete immersion. Luke xvi. 24, in 
the history of the rich man and Lazar- 
us as given by our Lord, the rich man 
prays that Lazarus may be sent, and 
^'dip the tip of his finger in water, 
and cool my tongue." Now the word 
hapsa is used and translated, dip. But 
a single drop of water would remain 
on that finger, as anyone may demon- 
strate for himself, by dipping his finger 
in water. The idea of complete immer- 
sion is not here. In John xiii. 26, at 



86 Treatise on Baptism. 

the passover which the Savior is cele- 
brating for the last time with his apos- 
ties, the question was asked who it 
was that should betray the Lord, Jesus^ 
answered, '^He it is, to whom I shall 
give the sop, when I have dipped if 
In the Greek, when I have hapsas^ 
If the reader will turn to the institu- 
tion of the passover feast, and see how^ 
the lamb was prepared, and recollect 
that thirteen persons had already par- 
taken of it, he will find that there 
was very little gravy in which the 
sop could be dipped. Deut. xii. 8, 9. 
'* Roast with fire." "Eat not of it raw,, 
nor sodden at all with water; but 
roast with fire." In Rev. xix. 13, John 
sees one ''clothed in a vesture dipped, 
in blood, and his name is The Word 
of God." The Greek word used is Beba- 
menon. If the reader will turn back and 



How are we to he Baptized? 87 

read the prophecy concerning this, he 
will see exactly how this was done. 
Isa. Ixiii. 3, '*For I will tread them in 
mine anger, and trample them in my 
fury, and their Hood shall he sprhikled. 
upon my garments^ and I loill stain 
all my gar merit P 

x\ir the ceremonies of the Old Testa- 
ment dispensation point to and clearly 
teach cleansing and purifying by pour- 
ing or sprinkling. In that wonderful 
and awful night of the exodus, when 
the Lord sent forth his destroying an- 
gel to slay the first-born of man and 
beast among the Egyptians, he com- 
manded that the posts of the doors of 
the houses should be sprinkled, ^' and 
the blood shall be to you for a token 
upon the houses Avhere ye are." In 
other words, it w^as to be a sign to 
the Jewish people as baptism is to us. 



88 Treatise on Baptism, 

So, again, in setting apart kings and 
priests, oil or water was to be poured 
or sprinkled upon the candidate for a 
sign to him of his cleansing. Numbers 
viii. 6, 7, gives the law for the cleans- 
ing of the Levites to the priesthood. 
''Take the Levites from among the chil- 
dren of Israel and cleanse them. And 
thus shalt thou do unto them to cleanse 
them: sprinkle water of purifying upon 
them, and let them shave all their 
flesh, and let them wash their clothes, 
and so make themselves clean." Hous- 
es infected with leprosy were ceremon- 
ially cleansed by sprinkling water upon 
them. Lepers were to be sprinkled, 
and many others, when declared healed 
or purified, were ceremonially cleansed 
by sprinkling blood or water upon 
them. The apostle, in writing to the 
Hebrews, explains these ceremonies very 



How are we to he Baptized ? 89 

beautifully, and it will be well for all 
to read what he says, and how he 
shows that all these had reference to 
Christ and his redemptive work. Heb. 
ix. 19, &c., ''For when Moses had 
«poken every precept to all the people 
according to the law^, he took the blood 
of calves and of goats, with water, and 
scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled 
both the book and all the people, say- 
ing, this is the blood of the Testament 
which God hath enjoined unto you, 
and almost all things are by the law 
purged with blood; and without shed- 
ding of blood there is no remission, 
•ifec." How significant sprinkling was, 
and yet is; for God appointed it, and 
he always chooses and appoints that 
which is most expressive and full of 
meaning. Let those consider well what 
they say, when they declare that a lit- 



90 Treatise on Baptism, 

tie water sprinkled or poured has no» 
significance in the act of baptism which 
represents the remission of sins. We 
may confidently rely upon that form 
and mode so plainly set forth in all 
these emblems of the blood of Christ. 
As we are not only to be baptized 
with water, but also with the Holy 
Ghost, we may get further light on this 
important subject by inquiring in what 
manner this is done. If the reader will 
take his Bible and note carefully those 
passages of Scripture both of the Old 
and New Testament which speak of 
baptism of the Spirit, he will find that 
invariably, they speak of him as fall- 
ing tipon^ poured oiU, and shed- 
forth. In Ps. Ixxii. (>, David declarer 
that ''he shall come down like rain 
upon the mown grass; as showers that 
water the earth." In Prov. i. 23^ 



How are loe to he Baptized ? 91 

'•Turn you at my reproof; behold, I 
will pour out my Spirit upon you." 
Isa. xliv. 3, "I will pour water upon 
him that is thirsty, and floods upon the 
dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon 
thy seed, and my blessing upon thine 
offspring." Isa. lii. 13, '•So shall he 
sprinkle many nations." Ez. xxxvi. 25- 
28, '' Then will I sprinkle clean water 
upon you, and ye shall be clean; from 
all your filthiness, and from all your 
idols, will I cleanse you. A new 
heart also will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you; and I 
will take away the stony heart out of 
your flesh, and I will give you a heart 
of flesh. And I will put my Spirit 
within you, and cause you to walk 
according to my statutes, and ye shall 
keep my judgments and do them."' 
Joel ii. 28, 29, ''And it shall come to 



92 Treatise on Baptism, 

pass afterwards, that 1 will pour out 
my Spirit upon all flesh; and your 
sons and your daughters shall prophe- 
sy, your old men shall dream dreams, 
your young men shall see visions; and 
also upon the servants and upon the 
liandmaids in those days will I pour 
•out my Spirit." These were all literal- 
ly fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, 
as Peter clearly declares, when the dis- 
ciples were gathered together, and after- 
ward as the apostles preached the Word 
and established the Christian church at 
Jerusalem and in heathen lands. 

The writer several times met persons 
who affirmed that the disciples, gathered 
together in that upper room, were im- 
mersed in the Spirit, for he filled the 
house, as they say, and that it was so 
-stated in the second chapter of the 
Acts. If the reader will turn to that 



Holo are we to he Baptized ? 93^ 

chapter, he will soon see that this is 
a most egregious error and blunder,, 
and there are not a few that make it. 
Thus it reads, ^'And there came a sound 
from heaven as of a rushing mighty 
wind, and it (the sound) filled all the^ 
house where they were sitting." In the 
fourth verse, ^'And they (the people) 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost,'^ 
jnst as the prophet had clearly predicted 
and stated, '^ and I will put my Spirit 
within you." In the eleventh chapter 
of the Acts an account is given of 
Peter's defense for going among the 
Gentiles and preaching the gospel of 
Christ to them. In the fifteenth verse 
he says, "As I began to speak, the 
Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at 
the beginning. Then remembered I the 
word of the Lord, how that he said, 
John indeed baptized with water: but 



94 Treatise on Baptism, 

ye shall be baptized with tlie Holy 
Ghost." Let those who speak of pour- 
ing and sprinkling, as being no bap- 
tism, explain how Peter called this 
falling upon of the Holy Ghost as a 
baptism, and therewith connecting John's 
baptism, which, no doubt, was by pour- 
ing or sprinkling — since Christ's bap- 
tism is clearly declared to be in this 
manner, and John's was with^ not in 
water. There are still other passages 
of Scripture in the New Testament 
where the word Baptize is used in the 
original language where the water was 
applied by pouring or sprinkling. In 
I. Cor. X. 1, 2, "All our fathers were 
under the cloud, and all passed through 
the sea; and were all baptized unto 
Moses in the cloud and in the sea." 
Here the waters, falling upon from 
those " gathered together as a heap " 



Hoif!) are loe to he Baptized? 95 

in the form of spray, is called baptism. 
There were over six hundred thousand, 
besides children and a mixed multi- 
tude, who received this baptism as a 
sign and covenant pledge that they 
were cleansed from Egyptian defile- 
ments, and made meet to be disciples 
of Moses. 

The use of the word Baptizo is not 
only confined as a rite performed upon 
men, but is also used in ceremonial 
cleansing of houses, utensils, couches^ 
beds, (fee. In Mark vii. 4, we read, 
^' When they come from the market, 
except they wash, {Baptizontai) \h&j 
eat not. And many other things which 
they have received to hold, as the 
washing of cups, and pots, brazen ves- 
sels and of tables." Now no one will 
maintain that this was other than the 
ceremonial cleansings of the Jews by 



96 Treatise on Bwptism, 

sprinkling or pouring. It means here^ 
as it does everj^where when it is used 
as a religious rite, symbolical purifica- 
tion by water. In Heb. ix. 10, the- 
purifications of the Jews are called 
"divers washings;" in the Greek-, 
"diaphorai Baptismoi," divers baptisms. 
In the same chapter, verses 13, 14, we 
have again the statement that ^Hhe- 
sprinkling of the blood of bulls and 
goats, and the ashes of a heifer sanc- 
tified to the purifying of the flesh, how 
much more shall the blood of Christ,'^ 
which is applied by sprinkling, "purge 
the conscience from dead works, to* 
serve the living God." So lar as the 
New Testament is concerned, there is not 
a single case where baptism is used 
as a sacrament, it necessarily means 
anything other than pouring or sprink- 
ling. There are many cases where it 



How are im to he Bcvptized ? 97 

absolutely cannot mean immersion. In 
every case it can mean pouring or 
sprinkling, for these are expressive of 
cleansing, purifying and anointing — the 
essential things in the idea of baptism. 
The application of water, expressive of 
the cleansing from sin, by the blood of 
Jesus Christ, performed by an author- 
ized person, is Christian baptism. 

We have now come to that point 
when we need to examine the ex- 
amples of baptism given in the Bible, 
and see whether from these we maj^ 
not learn the same truth as has al- 
ready been stated, namely, that sprink- 
ling or pouring was the manner in 
which the water was applied. In a 
sacrament, let it be remembered, the 
emblem or sign is applied to the per- 
son, and not the j)evson to the emblem. 
In baptism, this is water; in the com- 



98 Treatise on Baptism. 

munion of the body and blood, bread 
and wine. Hence the water is to be 
applied to us. not we to the water ; 
the bread and wine to tis^ not we to 
the bread and wine. Besides, in a 
sacrament, it is not what we do to- 
ward God, but what he does toward 
and in us— the administering of grace 
through and by the means he has ap- 
pointed. And, again, no one of the 
most stringent and straitest believers 
in immersion pretends to say that the 
water is the cleansing power, but aU 
admit that it is a sign and emblem of 
the blood of Jesus Christ, as bread and 
wine are signs and emblems of the 
broken body and shed blood of Christ. 
How much water is required to be a 
sign or an emblem? Surely not a lake, 
or river, or cistern, or bucket full — a 
single drop is a sign, an emblem of 



Holo are we to be Baptized f 99 

the blood of Christ; and the ransomed 
in heaven say, '' Unto Mm that loved 
us^ and washed us from our sins in 
his own hlood^ and hath made us kings 
and priests unto God and his Father; 
to him he glory and dominion for ever 
and ever, Ame7i?'' And we take up 
the glad anthem and sing: 

^'One drop of the blood, one drop of the blood, 

He shed upon Calvary's brow, 
Will cleanse me within, 
And free me from sin. 

And make me e'en w^hiter than snow. 

One drop of the blood, one drop of the blood,' 

He gave as a ransom for me, 
Will cleanse every stain, 
Eemove every pain 

Which now in my Spirit may be. 

One drop of the blood, one drop of the blood, 
Oh, sprinkle it now in thy love; 

Oh, save me to-day. 

And save me for aye. 

And fit me for heaven above." 



100 Treatise on Bajptism. 

We have first the baptism of John, 
the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, 
who came as the forerunner of the Mes- 
siah. He came baptizing at Jordan, in 
the wilderness, and at Aenon near to 
Salim. Now John's baptism was no 
novelty or surprise to the Jews. It 
was nothing else than a form, at most, 
of the Jew^ish purifications which they 
for centuries had practiced. When the 
Jews sent to ask who he was, and re- 
ceived the reply that he w^as not the 
Messiah, nor Elias, or that prophet, 
they asked, ''why baptizest thou, then?'^ 
John i. 25. This show^s that they had 
clear notions of baptism, and that it 
w^as no new thing. St. Paul also says 
that the Jews were all baptized unto 
Moses in the cloud and in the sea at 
the exodus. When we consider, now, 
the manner of the application of the 



How are loe to he Baptized ? 101 

water in this baptism of John, he at 
once, himself, tells the Jews as he tells 
us, "/ haptize with ivatery John i. 
26. The same is true of Christian bap- 
tism afterwards. The Ethiopian eunuch 
said, "here is water, what hinders me 
to be baptized?" Peter said, ''who can 
' forbid water that these be baptized.'' 
And the apostle speaking of the love 
of Christ for his church, says, " that 
he might sanctify and cleanse it with 
the washing of water by the Word/' 
Because it is said that John baptized 
in Jordan, many at once jump to the 
conclusion that John baptized by im- 
mersion, not knowing or considering 
that a person can be in Jordan, and 
yet not be in the water. ''And thou 
shalt command the priests that bear 
the ark of the covenant, saying, 'when 
ve are come to the brink of the waters 



102 Treatise on Baptism. 

of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jor- 
dan,'^ " We shall be able to show that 
John did not baptize in that way. Be- 
sides, John's disciples were re-baptized 
when they entered the Christian church, 
his baptism being '' unto repentance," 
and that of Christ's, ''unto the remis- 
sion of sins " by his own blood. In 
Acts xix. 1-6, we have an account of 
some of the disciples of John, whom 
Paul re-baptized because they had not 
received the Holy Ghost, ''He said 
unto them, Have ye received the Holy 
Ghost since ye believed? And they 
said unto him. We have not so much 
as heard whether there be anj^ Holy 
Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto 
what, then, were ye baptized? And 
they said, Unto John's baptism. Then 
said Paul, John verily baptized with 
the baptism of repentance, saying unto 



How are we to he Baptized f 103 

the people, that they should believe on 
him which should come after him, that 
is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard 
this, they were baptized in the name 
of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul 
had laid his hands on them, the Holy 
Ghost came on them." Here a distinc- 
tion is made between the baptism of 
John and Christian baptism. Now% 
wdiile John w^as engaged for eighteen 
months in preaching and baptizing the 
multitudes that came to him from Jeru- 
salem, which in itself is an insurmount- 
able diiRculty in the w^ay of those that 
believe in immersion, for no person of 
common sense, can believe that he 
could have performed the necessary 
work, or had physical strength to en- 
dure such an enormous strain, or even 
that thousands were turned loose on 
the banks of Jordan, wet and dripping 



104 Treatise on Baptisin, 

like sheep come from their washing. 
The most prominent case of John's 
baptism is that of the Savior. An ac- 
count of this is given in the four gos- 
pels, and they must all be read to get 
a complete understanding of the case. 
The account given in Matt. iii. 13-17, is : 
'^ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to 
Jordan unto John, to be baptized of 
him. But John forbade him, saying, I 
have need to be baptized of thee, and 
comest thou to me? And Jesus an- 
swering, said unto him, Suffer it to be 
so now, for thus it becometh us to 
fulfill all righteousness. Then he suf- 
fered him. And Jesus, when he was 
baptized, went up straightway out of 
the water; and lo, the heavens were 
opened unto him, and he saw the Spir- 
it of God descending liJ^e a dove, and 
lighting upon him ; and lo, a voice 



Hoiv) are we to he Baptized f 105 

from heaven saying, This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased."' In 
Luke iii. 23, (R. Y.) adds, ^'And Jesus 
himself, when he began to teach, was 
about thirty years of age/' On first 
appearance, this would seem to be a 
contradiction to that which w^e have 
stated, namely, that John's baptism was 
by pouring or sprinkling; for do ive 
not read that '•' Jesus went up out of 
the w^ater," (which might read according 
to the Greek original, ^^ tip from the 
w^ater.") The preposition apo is used, 
its primary meaning is from. But some 
other matters must first be settled, and 
then the manner of the application of 
the water to Christ will clearly appear. 
Why was Christ baptized? Why did 
he come to John for baptism? These 
are the two questions upon which the 
mode of Christ's baptism hangs. Let 



106 Treatise on Baptism, 

these be answered correctly, according 
to the plain teaching of God's Word, 
and there will no longer be a shadow 
of a doubt in the minds of those that 
seek for the truth. It is often stated 
that Jesus was baptized for the purpose 
of taking upon himself the sins of the 
human race, and that he, the Holy 
One, should, according to the demands 
of the law, submit to the judgment of 
sinners. Hence, since thej^ came to 
John, Christ did also. Others explain 
the baptism of Christ as being an ex- 
ample, and that since he was baptized 
as an adult, only adults should be bap- 
tized. Neither of these views and ex- 
planations meet the case, nor give the 
plain teachings of the Scriptures. 

There is a point, which all commenta- 
tors that the writer has examined fail to 
give, and which he believes to be the 



How are we to he Baptized f 107 

raain thing in this act of the Redeemer 
of the world. If the reader will turn to 
Matt. xxi. 23-28, and Luke xx. 1-9, he 
will see where the Savior refers to his 
baptism by John, as giving him author- 
ity to teach in the temple, and to do 
the things so contrary to the desires 
and ^^ishes of the elders, scribes, and 
chief priests. These had the oversight 
of the temple and those that taught 
publicly. Hence, they wished to know, 
and had a right to ask, by what author- 
ity he assumed to teach in the temple 
and do these things. In the act of 
baptism, Christ was set apart to his 
threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and 
King. To exercise the functions of 
these offices, he needed to be set apart 
by a lawful priest. John Baptist was 
th» son of Zacharias, the priest, and, 
therefore, in the direct line of priest- 



108 Treatise on Baptism, 

hood. Since the office of prophet in- 
cluded that of priest, John chose that, 
and was authorized to set Christ apart 
to his office. Now we are distinctly 
told that Christ was a '' Priest after 
the order of Melchizedec.'' Hence, it is 
also therewith stated that he was thirty 
years of age when he began to teach ; 
for no one could be set apart to that 
office before that age. In the fourth 
chapter of Numbers the law governing 
this is stated over and over again. 
*'From thirty years old and upward 
until fifty years shalt thou number 
them ; a-1 that enter in to perform the 
service, to do the work in the taber- 
nacle of the congregation." 

When Jesus came to John and said, 
** Suffer it to be so now, that we may 
fulfill all righteousness,'' he desired to 
come up to all the requirements of the 



How are we to he Baptized? 109 

law, for they were yet under that dis- 
pensation, and he came not to destroy 
the law, but to fulfill it. Hence he 
waited until he was thirty years of 
age, and then, at the hands ol John, 
seeks what w^e now call ordination, or 
a public recognition and acknowledge- 
ment of his right to teach, hj one 
who was himself a regularly authorized 
Jewish teacher. He knew^ very w^ell, 
and so do we, that such were the 
strong prejudices of the Jews, and such 
their attachment to the requirements 
of their law, that if he had attempted 
to teach without being inducted into 
the office according to those require- 
ments, no Jew^ would have listened 
to him. Hence, when the elders, 
scribes, and chief priests come to him 
in the temple and ask him, ''by w^hat 
authority doest thou these things, and 



110 Treatise on Baptism. 

who gave thee this authority ? " he at 
once points them to John's baptism. 
Now the law, concerning the consecra- 
tion of priests, is found in Num. viii. 
5-7, ''And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
saying, Take the Levites from among 
the children of Israel, and cleanse 
them. And thus shalt thou do unto 
them to cleanse them : sprinkle water 
of purifying upon them," &c. Here, 
then, we have a clear explanation of 
the manner in which Jesus was bap- 
tized — ''by sprinkling water of purify- 
ing upon him." That this is correct, is 
also testified to by a rude picture of 
this event in the catacombs at Rome. 
This represents Christ as standing in 
the water of Jordan, and John Baptist 
standing on the shore with shell in 
hand, w4th which he pours the water 
of consecration upon the Savior's head. 



Holo are loe to he Baptized? Ill 

It may be objected, that the Savior 
did not observe the other ceremonies 
necessary to the consecration of a 
Jewish priest, hence the attendance to 
this one duty was partial. This is not 
known, for there are many circum- 
stances in the life of Christ which are 
not recorded in the Scriptures. "And 
there are also many other things which 
Jesus did, the which, if they should be 
written every one, I suppose that even 
the world itself could not contain the 
books that should be written." John 
xxi. 25. But admitting that those other 
things prescribed in the law were not 
attended to as commanded in the 
eighth chapter of Numbers, except the 
sprinkling of the water of purification, 
and admitting that this was not done 
at the door of the tabernacle, as the 
law required, but at Jordan, still we 



112 Treatise on Baptism. 

have an answer to all, furnished by 
the apostle in the epistle to the 
Hebrews, '' For the i3riestliood being 
changed, there is made of necessity a 
change also of the law.-' Heb. vii. 12. 
The variation or departure trom the es- 
tablished order in the case of the Sav- 
ior, was only such as was proper to 
make in ordaining a priest who was not 
of the tribe of Levi, but a i)riest after 
the order of Melchizedec. This Melchi- 
zedec was the type of Christ in this 
particular, in that he had neither pre 
decessor nor successor in the priestly 
otRce. 

The first proper case of Christian 
baptism is that of the day of Pentecost, 
when, w^e are told, ''Then they that 
gladly received his word were baptized; 
and the same day there were added 
unto them about three thousand souls." 



How are loe to he Baptized ? 113 

Acts ii. 41. Now how were these three 
thousand persons baptized? It is not 
stated definitely how it was done, but 
arguing from the manner of applying 
water in the old dispensation, and that 
of John in the case of Christ, as well 
as the manner of the baptism by the 
Holy Ghost effusion, we can not believe 
other than that they were baptized by 
sprinkling, somewhat in the manner re- 
corded in the epistle to the Hebrews: 
''For when Moses had spoken every 
precept to all the people according to 
the law, he took the blood of calves 
and of goats, with water, and scarlet 
wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both 
the book and all the people." Here a 
whole congregation of thousands re- 
ceived symbolical purification at one 
time. These thousands could not have 

been immersed, since there is no run- 

8 



114 Treatise on Baptism. 

ning stream through Jerusalem, and as 
to using the public cisterns, it is sim- 
ple folly to suppose that this would be 
permitted. Besides there would not 
have been sufficient time for the elev- 
en to perform the rite in that way. 
If we accept what is clearly taught in 
other portions of the Scripture, that 
the apostles took hyssop, and dipping 
it, sprinkled over the people water, 
we will not be far from knowing the 
exact way of applying the water in 
baptism on the day of Pentecost. Since 
the apostles had just been baptized 
with the Holy Ghost, by his being 
poured out and falling upon them, they, 
no doubt, adopted the divine pattern, 
and permitted the water to fall upon 
the multitude of converts to the new 
faith. 

Consider, now, the baptism of the 



Hon3 are lue to be BajJtized? 115 

Ethiopian eunuch, as recorded in Acts 
viii. 26-29, ''And the angel of the Lord 
spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and 
go toward the south unto the way that 
goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, 
which is desert. And he arose and 
went; and behold, a man of Ethiopia, 
a eunuch of great authority under Can- 
dace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had 
the charge of all her treasure, and had 
come to Jerusalem to worship, was re- 
turning, and sitting in his chariot, read 
Esaias, the prophet. Then the Spirit 
said unto Philip, Go near, and join 
thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran 
thither to him, and heard him read 
the prophet Esaias, and said, Under- 
standest thou what thou readest? And 
he said. How can I, except some man 
should guide me ? And he desired 
Philip that he would come up and sit 



116 Treatise on Baptism. 

with him. The place of the Scripture 
which he read was this, ' He was led as 
a sheep to the slaughter, and like a 
lamb dumb before his shearers, so 
opened he not his mouth ; in his hu- 
miliation his judgment was taken away; 
and who shall declare his generation? 
for his life is taken from the earth.' 
(Isa. liii. 7, 8.) And the eunuch an- 
swered Philip, and said, I pray thee, 
of whom speaketh the prophet this? of 
himself, or of some other man ? Then 
Philip opened his mouth and began at 
the same Scripture, and preached unto 
him Jesus. And as they went on their 
way, they came unto a certain water; 
and the eunuch said, See, here is wa- 
ter, what doth hinder me to be bap- 
tized? And Philip said, if thou believ- 
est with all thine heart, thou mayest. 
And he answered and said, I believe 



How are we to he Baptized f 117 

that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 
And he commanded the chariot to 
stand still; and they went both into the 
water^ both Philip and the eunuch, and 
he baptized him. And when they were 
come up out of the water, the Spirit 
of the Lord caught away Philip, that 
the eunuch saw him no more; and he 
went on his way rejoicing." The diffi- 
culty in the minds of many in this 
case is the statement that Philip and 
the eunuch went '' both into the wa- 
ter," and ^' come up out of the water." 
{How deep did they go in?) The or- 
iginal Greek word, eis^ which is here 
translated into, has about twenty-six 
different renderings. In the gospel of 
Matthew alone, it is translated by some 
other word seventy-seven times. In 
the same chapter in which the baptism 
of the eunuch is given, eis is rendered 



118' Treatise on Baptism. 

to., five times; unto., once; at., once; 
and is only rendered into., twice in the 
whole chapter. And it is frequently 
used in the Scriptures where it cannot 
possibly mean into., but to, or unto. 
The passage under consideration can, 
with justice to the original, be rendered 
in this way, ^'They went down from 
the chariot, both Philip and the eunuch, 
to the water; and he baptized him. 
And when they were come up from 
(ek) the water, the Spirit of the Lord 
caught away Philip." There is no ques- 
tion but that this would be the correct 
reading. The probability is that this 
" certain water " was a small rivulet or 
a well by the wayside. The place was 
"desert" we know, and that any large 
stream or pond was there is not likely. 
To this water they webt to administer 
the solemn rite by sprinkling, as is de- 



How are we to he Baptized f 119 

clared by the book of Isaiah which 
the eunuch was reading, and from 
which he obtained his idea of baptism, 
and not from Philip, as many suppose. 
The eunuch was reading the prophecy 
of Isaiah as a whole. The particular 
passages which he was reading when 
Philip came to him while he was rid- 
ing along, are pointed out. Let it be 
remembered, the Bible was not divided 
into chapters and verses until the elev- 
enth century of the Christian era, so 
that the eunuch did not pick out this 
chapter only, to read. Besides, let the 
reader notice very carefully that it is 
the request of the eunuch to he haptized. 
So far as we know, Philip said nothing 
to him about that rite, but ''preached 
Jesus to him." Where, then, did the 
eunuch get his idea of baptism? We 
answer, from the book of Isaiah. In 



120 Treatise on Baptism. 

the forty-fourth chapter, third verse, we 
read, and so did the eunuch, ''For I 
will pour water upon him that is 
thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; 
I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, 
and my blessing upon thine off'spring." 
In the fifty-second chapter, fifteenth 
verse, just a few verses previous to 
those pointed out as those which the 
eunuch was reading, it is distinctly 
stated, ''So shall he sprinkle many na- 
tions." This 07ie^ so mysterious to the 
Ethiopian, and whom Philip declared 
unto him as being Jesus, the Savior of 
the w^orld, " shall sprinkle many na- 
tions." This exactly coincides with what 
Jesus did do and is still doing through 
the apostles and their successors in the 
Christian church. He commanded, "Go 
into all the world and teach all na- 
tions, baptizing them in the name of 



How are we to l)e Baptized? 121 

the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost." In Isaiah, ''he shall sprinkle 
many nations," in the gospels, ''bap- 
tize," hence, to sprinkle is the com- 
mand of Jesus Christ to all true and 
faithful disciples. The idea of baptism 
would be very naturally suggested to 
the mind of the eunuch, as it was to 
the Jews in reading these and other 
passages which speak of the promised 
Messiah '' sprinkling many nations." In 
John i. 19, 25, it is said, ''And this is 
the record of John, when the Jews 
sent priests and Levites from Jerusa- 
lem, to ask him. Who art thou? And 
he confessed, and denied not; but con- 
fessed, I am not the Christ. And they 
asked him, What then? Art thou Ell- 
as? And he said I am not. Art thou 
that Prophet? And he answered, No. 
And they which were sent were of the 



122 Treatise on Baptism, 

Pharisees. And they asked him, and 
said unto him, Why laptizest thou 
then,, if thou he not that Christ? '^'^ 
Now here the Pharisees, who were the 
best scholars of the nation, and who 
studied the Jewish Scriptures, got the 
impression that when Christ came he 
would baptize. Now all the Jewish 
Scriptures, the Old Testament, Moses 
and the prophets, and the Psalms, and 
the Proverbs, speak of him ^^ pouring 
water," ''sprinkling water," never,, in 
not one instance,, do they speak of that 
prophet, or Christ, dipping, plunging, or 
immersing. They do speak of him as 
''^coming down upon them as the rain 
upon the new mown grass; " they do 
speak of him as " sprinkling many na- 
tions; " that he would " sprinkle clean 
water itpon the people and cleanse 
them from all their idols and Althi- 



How are we to he Baptized'^ 123 

■nessP As already stated, the applica- 
tion of water as a means of purifica- 
tion was no new idea to the Jews ; 
and in every case^ the water was ap- 
plied to the person or thing to he 
cleansed^ hy sprinkling or pouring. It 
was sometimes required after they were 
thus purified by having the clean wa- 
ter, or the annointing oil, or the blood 
sprinkled upon them, that they should 
wash themselves all over with water. 
But in no case lohere there was an 
administrator and a subject^ was the 
water applied other than by sprinkling 
or pouring. The case of Naaman, the 
Syrian, is often produced as teaching 
immersion. No sacramental rite was 
performed on him. He was told to go 
and wash seven times in Jordan — that 
is all — and nothing more. It only illus- 
trates what we have just said. Not a 



124 Treatise on Baptism, 

shadow of doubt ought remain in the 
mind of the faithful reader of holy writ, 
but that the eunuch was baptized by- 
pouring or sprinkling. 

Let us now examine the baptism of 
the Phillipian jailer. Acts xvi. 22-34, 
"And the multitude rose up together 
against them; and the magistrates rent 
oil* their clothes, and commanded to 
beat them. And when they had laid 
many stripes upon them, they cast 
them into prison, charging the jailer 
to keep them safelj^ : who, having re- 
ceived such a charge, thrust them into 
the inner prison, and made their feet 
fast in the stocks. And at midnight 
Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises 
unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 
And suddenly there was a great earth- 
quake, so that the foundations of the 
prison were shaken : and immediately 



How are we to he Baptized? 125 

all the doors were opened, and every 
one's bands were loosed. And the 
keeper of the prison awaking out of 
his sleep, and seeing the prison doors 
open, he drew out his sword, and 
would have killed himself, supposing 
that the prisoners had been fled. But 
Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, 
Do thyself no harm : for we are all 
here. Then he called for a light, and 
sprang in, and came trembling, and fell 
down before Paul and Silas, and brought 
them out, and said. Sirs, what must I 
do to be saved? And they said. Be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 
And they spake unto him the word of 
the Lord, and to all who were in his 
house. And he took them the same 
hour of the night, and washed their 
stripes; and was baptized, he and all 



126 Treatise on Baptism. 

his, straightway. And when he had 
brought them into his house, he set 
meat before them, and rejoiced, be- 
lieving in God with all his house." 
Here we have a case of baptism at 
midnight, in the privacy of the jailer^s 
house connected with the prison. The 
manner of applying the water of bap- 
tism to him with the others of his 
household is the same as in the other 
instances already considered. It would 
appear that the jailer was baptized 
with some of the very same water 
which he brought to wash the wounds 
of the disciples, made by the brutal 
beating of the magistrates. There are 
some very strange explanations of this 
case of baptism, by those who hold 
the theory of immersion. They have 
tried hard to prove this to be such a 
case, and have failed most miserably, 



How are ive to he Baptized? 127 

since they have had to manufacture a 
good deal that is not in the account. 
They have taken Paul and Silas out to 
some stream, or lake, or pond, to bap- 
tize this jailer '' and his house." But 
the trouble is, there is not a word said 
of this. Indeed, it is altogether out 
of the question, for that jailer was on 
the point of committing suicide once 
because he feared his prisoners had 
fled, knowing that his own life was at 
stake to permit such a thing to happen. 
He dared not to take them out of the 
prison, for it would have been an 
offence worthy of death, according to 
Roman law. Then some have manu- 
factured a tank in which the disciples 
baptized. This is an invention neither 
founded on fact nor yet on history — a 
pure fiction! There is great reason to 
believe that out of the very basin 



128 Treatise on Baptism, 

which the jailer brought, filled with 
water, to wash the stripes of Paul and 
Silas, he and his were sprinkled, re- 
ceiving the sign and seal of the pardon 
and forgiveness of sin. 

Next we take notice of the baptism 
of Saul, afterwards called Paul. The 
account is given in Acts ix. 10-18, 
"And there was a certain disciple at 
Damascus, named Ananias; and to him 
said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. 
And he said, Behold, I am here. Lord. 
And the Lord said unto him. Arise, 
and go into the street which is called 
Straight, and inquire in the house of 
Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: 
for, behold, he prayeth, and has seen 
in a vision a man named Ananias 
coming in, and putting his hand on 
him, that he might receive his sight. 
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have 



How are we to he Baptized ? 129 

heard by many of this man, how much 
evil he hath done to thy saints at Je- 
rusalem : and here he hath authority 
from the chief priests to bind all that 
call on thy name. But the Lord said 
unto him, Go thy way: for he is a 
chosen vessel unto me, to bear my 
name unto the Gentiles, and kings, and 
the children of Israel: for I will show 
him how great things he must suj0fer 
for my sake. And x\nanias went his 
w^ay, and entered into the house; and 
putting his hands on him said. Brother 
Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that ap- 
peared unto thee in the way as thou 
camest, hath sent me, that thou might- 
est receive thy sight, and be filled with 
the Holy Ghost. xlnd immediately 
there fell from his eyes as it had been 
scales : and he received sight forthwith, 
and arose, and was baptized." Here 



130 Treatise on Baptism.. 

we have satisfactory evidence of bap- 
tism by pouring or sprinkling. Saul 
was baptized in the city of Damascus, 
in the house of a disciple named Ju- 
das. The simple and plain declaration 
is, that '4ie arose and was baptized," 
just as people now present themselves 
for this rite, either in the church or in 
their homes. Ananias, being authorized 
of the Lord, gave to Saul the emblem, 
or pledge of the forgiveness of his 
sins, which was by pouring or sprink- 
ling water upon him. 

The baptism of Cornelius and his 
household is an interesting and im- 
portant example of baptism, which we 
now examine. Acts x. 44-48, "While 
Peter yet spake these words, the Holy 
Ghost fell on all them which heard 
the word. And they of the circumci- 
sion which believed were astonished, as 



How are ive to be Baj^tized? 131 

many as came with Peter, because that 
on the Gentiles also was poured out 
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they 
heard them speak with tongues, and 
magnify God. Then answered Peter, 
Can any man forbid water, that these 
should not be baptized, which have re- 
oeived the Holy Ghost as well as we? 
And he commanded them to be bap- 
tized in the name of the Lord." Here 
we have the baptism of the Holy Ghost 
upon the Gentiles which was by "pour- 
ing." When Peter speaks of the appli- 
cation of water, he asks, '^ Can any 
man forbid water" that these be bap- 
tized. He simply desired that water in 
a suitable vessel be brought for this 
purpose. Those who can find a creek, 
a river, lake, or pond, or cistern here, 
can do more than is written or revealed 
— they are wise beyond that which is 



132 Treatise on Baptism. 

written. The Gentiles, too, had the 
promise, as Peter declared on the day 
of Pentecost, and they needed for tte 
comfort of their hearts and assurance 
of mind, the sign and seal of the wash- 
ing away of sin, which was water ap- 
plied to them in the name of the Lord^ 
whose blood sprinkled, washes away all 
our sins. 

We have already called attention to 
the baptism unto Moses, as recorded in 
I. Cor. X. 1, 2, *' Moreover, brethren, I 
would not that ye should be ignorant^ 
how that all our fathers were under 
the cloud, and all passed through the 
sea; and were all baptized unto Moses 
in the cloud and in the sea." To un- 
derstand the manner in which the water 
was here applied, turn to the account 
given by Moses of the passage of the 
Israelites through the Red Sea, Ex. xiv. 



How are we to he Baptized? 133 

19-22, ''And the angel of God, which 
went before the camp of Israel, re- 
moved and went behind them; and it 
came between the camp of the Egyp- 
tians and the camp of Israel; and it 
was a cloud and darkness to them, but 
it gave light by night to these: so that 
the one came not near the other all 
the night. And Moses stretched out 
his hand, over the sea; and the Lord 
caused the sea to go back by a strong 
east wind all that night, and made the 
sea dry land, and the waters were di- 
vided. And the children of Israel 
went into the midst of the sea upon 
the dry ground: and the waters were a 
wall unto them on their right hand, 
and on their left." We are not con- 
cerned now to know whether this is a 
real or figurative baptism. It was a 
^'baptism unto Moses," that much we 



134 Treatise on Baptism. 

know for a certainty, for God testifies 
in his Word to that. We are concerned 
especially to know how the water was 
applied to the people. It is plain 
again that the mist or spray, as it fell 
from the mighty walls of water on 
either side of them as they passed 
through the midst of the sea on dry 
ground," is the baptism spoken of. 
The Psalmist, referring to this event, 
says, " The clouds poured out water. 
Thou leddest thy people like a flock 
by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Ps. 
Ixxvii. 17 and 20. If any one wants a 
case of pure and simple immersion, 
you can find it in the host of Egyp- 
tians that followed God's people into 
the sea, and there are submerged and 
immersed until this day. A sarcastic 
writer says, '' The Israelites got all the 
haptism and no immersion^ and the 



How are we to he Baptized ? 135 

Egyptians got all the immersion and 
no haptism?'' 

In I. Peter iii. 21, Noah and his 
family were saved by means of the 
ark, and this is called a figure of bap- 
tism. Let us consider this case. ''In 
the days of Noah, while the ark was 
preparing, wherein few — that is, eight 
souls were saved by water. The like 
figure whereunto even baptism doth 
also save us." This is the only figure 
spoken of in the Scriptures in reference 
to baptism. As the ark was a cove- 
nant pledge to Noah and his family, 
and by means of which their lives 
were physically saved, so, in like man- 
ner, is baptism the covenant sign and 
pledge by which we are saved. Do 
the circumstances here referred to by 
the apostle convey the same idea as 
heretofore presented in tlie different 



136 Treatise on Baptism. 

cases of baptism? We think so. Look 
at the record, as given in Gen. vii. 
'Tor yet seven days, and I will cause 
it to rain upon the earth forty days 
and forty nights.'- ''And all the foun- 
tains of the great deep were broken 
up, and the windows of heaven were 
opened. And the rain was upon the 
earth forty days and forty nights." In 
the seventh verse we learn that Noah 
and his family had entered the ark 
before the rain began to fall upon the 
earth, and while it rested on dry 
ground. Then " the ark went upon 
the face of the waters," and as the 
waters fell upon the ark over them it 
most strikingly represents (for it is a 
"figure") baptism by pouring or sprink- 
ling. We are well aware that the pur- 
pose of the apostle is not to teach the 
manner of the application of the water, 



How are we to he Bajytized ? 137 

but rather '' the manner of salvation, 
as well as the necessity for it as 
taught from the history of Noah. The 
passage may, with strict justice to the 
original, be thus paraphrased: 'Noah 
and his family were carried in the ark 
through the whelming waters of the 
iiood, and thus saved from temporal 
death. The antitype to this — I mean 
baptism — not, however, the mere put- 
ting away the filth of the flesh, but 
what this material washing signifies, in 
the answer of a good conscience to- 
ward God, given, as the inward bap- 
tism of the Spirit, now saves us also, 
or assures us, as God's pledge, the seal 
of the promise and his oath, that our 
bodies shall hereafter be raised from 
the grave through the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ, or by the same power 
which raised him from the dead.' The 



138 Treatise on Baptism, 

outward sign of sprinkling, will insure 
to us, by the powder of God, eternal 
salvation, as Noah received temporal 
salvation by the ark which was the 
sign and means through which God 
saved him and his family." 

Thus we have carefully examined the 
most prominent cases of baptism given 
in the New Testament Scriptures and 
found, as we believe, the true answer 
to the question, How are we to be 
baptized? In each and every case of 
baptism by the Holy Ghost it was 
performed by ^'pouring out," ''shed 
forth" or ''falling upon." In like man- 
ner also was the water applied in 
John's baptism, in Jewish baptism, and 
in the baptism performed by the apos- 
tles called Christian baptism. This is 
in full accord with the express declara- 
tion of John, the evangelist, when he 



How are we to he Baptized? 139 

says, " For there are three that bear 
record in heaven, the Father, the Word 
and the Holy Ghost: and these three 
are one. And there are three that bear 
witness in earth, the Spirit and the 
water and the blood: and these three 
agree in one." I. John v. 7, 8. Now the 
Spirit is ''poured out," ''shed forth," 
or "fell upon," the water is sprinkled 
or poured, and the blood is " sprinkled," 
according to Peter: "Elect according 
to the foreknowledge of God the 
Father, through sanctification of the 
Spirit, unto obedience and the sprink- 
ling of the hlood of Jesus ChristP I. 
Pet. i. 2; and according to the apos 
tie's teaching in the Epistle to the 
Hebrews : " Let us draw near with 
a true heart in full assurance of 
faith, having our hearts sprinkled 
from an evil conscience and our 



140 Treatise on Baptism, 

bodies washed with pure water." 
Heb. X. 22. 

There are yet a few passages of 
Scripture which speak of baptism in 
its doctrinal or spiritual meanings, and 
set forth the Avork which it accom- 
plishes and the great and solemn truths 
which it represents, but do not have 
reference to the manner of the appli- 
cation of water in baptism as so many 
think they do, The Apostle Paul, in 
writing to the Christians at Rome con- 
cerning the separation of the Christian 
from the world, says that he is '' cruci- 
fied dead and buried with Christ," — a 
figurative representation of the spiritual 
state of all who have faith in Christ 
and follow him, states it in this way : 
'^Know ye not that so many of us as 
were baptized into Jesus Christ were 
baptized into his death ? Therefore we 



How are we to he Baptized ? 141 

are buried with him by baptism into 
death: that like as Christ was raised 
up from the dead by the glory of the 
Father, even so wx also should walk 
in newness of life. For if we have 
been planted together in the likeness 
of his death, we shall also be in the 
likeness of his resurrection, knowing 
this, that our old man is crucified with 
him that the body of sin might be de- 
stroyed, that henceforth we should not 
serve sin. For he that is dead is freed 
from sin." Rom. vi. 3-7. The resem- 
blance of the Christian to his Lord, 
which is here described, must be moral 
and spiritual, and not corporeal. As 
the death referred to is a state of 
mind, and the crucifixion which pre- 
cedes death, and the life which follows, 
so must the burial be. It is nothing 
outward and formal. The mention of 



142 Treatise on Baptism, 

burial connects the death with the res- 
surrection spoken of, and it shows more 
fully the separation of the Christian 
from the world. He is crucified, he 
dies, he is buried. These are figurative 
representations of the spiritual state of 
all who have faith in Christ and fol- 
low him. The same figure is repeated 
by the apostle in another epistle, where 
they who have the circumcision of 
Christ are said to be buried with him 
in the baptism. Col. ii. 10-12. ''And ye 
are complete in him which is the head 
of all principality and power : in whom 
also ye are circumcised icitk the cir- 
cumcision made icithout hands^ in put- 
ting off the l)ody of the sins of the 
Uesh hy the circumcision of Christ; 
buried with him in baptism wherein ye 
are also risen with him through the 
faith of the operation of God who 



Hoii3 are we to le Baptized? 143 

hath raised him from the dead." By 
the interchange of these terms, the 
apostle teaches that both denote simply 
a spiritual purification and consecration. 
In our inward renewal, professed and 
sealed in baptism, our old man is cru- 
cified with Christ for the very purpose 
that henceforth we should not serve sin. 
For he who has thus died to sin, is 
Christ's free man, and no longer a slave 
to sin." It is probable that, at baptism, 
the early converts professed their faith 
in the great doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion from the dead, based on the fact 
of the resurrection of Christ. "Else 
what shall they do which are baptized 
for the dead, if the dead rise not at 
all? Why are they then baptized for 
the dead?" I. Cor. xv. 29. Those who 
have argued immersion from these 
passages, have done so contrary to the 



144 Treatise on Baptism. 

clear meaning pointed out. The Sav- 
ior's burial bears no resemblance what- 
ever to being put under water. He 
was placed in the sepulchre of Joseph 
of Arimathea, hewn out of a rock, and 
a stone rolled and placed over its door. 
We are just as much buried by cir- 
cumcision — now what mode would that 
be? Circumcision was the rite among 
the Israelites, denoting purification and 
cleanliness, as well as the rite by 
which admittance was gained into Is- 
rael, the very same thing which bap- 
tism is now to the Christian, an out- 
ward cleansing and purification with 
water, representing inward renewing by 
the Spirit and blood of Christ, and an 
admittance into his church and kingdom 
of grace on earth. This is substanti- 
ated by the following passages of 
Scripture. Gal. iii. 26, 27 : '' For ye are 



How are we to he Baptized ? 145 

all the children of God by faith in 
Christ Jesus. For as many of you as 
have been baptized into Christ, have 
put on Christ." Here the meaning is 
plainly, '' the law having been, of 
course through the preaching of the 
gospel and the accompanying influences 
of the Spirit, the means of bringing 
the Galatians to Christ for justification 
by faith, they had in this faith been 
baptized into Christ or into his name. 
More fully expressed, they had been 
baptized into the one great name, 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and the 
result of their previous blessed change 
had been, that they had become, as the 
apostle styles them, 'the children of 
God by faith in Jesus Christ.' As a 
result of that change, a change pro- 
fessed and sealed at their baptism, 

they had ' put on Christ ; ' or as the 
10 



146 Treatise on Baptism. 

same apostle expresses the idea in an- 
other epistle, they had become ' con- 
formed to the image' of Christ. 'Put- 
ting on Christ' means, being made like 
Christ; having the same 'mind which 
was also in him ; ' being ' conformed to 
his image;' 'made children of God by 
faith in him;' and this was effected 
by the Holy Ghost, using the law and 
its accompanying influences in bringing 
the Galatians to Christ for justifica 
tion by faith, and in thus making 
them God's believing Children. 'As 
many of you,' says the apostle, ' as 
have been baptized into Christ have 
put on Christ.' This, evidently, is the 
full meaning of the passage; and it 
comes up fully to the dignity of the 
connected discourse, and is warm with 
all the vital meaning of the gospel." 
Another important passage of Scripture 



How are we to be Baptized^ 147 

is Titus iii. 5, 6, ^'Not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but 
according to his mercy he saved us, 
by the washing of regeneration, and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he 
shed on us abundantly through Jesus 
Christ our Savior." Here we are 
clearly and plainly taught that we are 
not saved by our own works and 
efforts, but through that spiritual work 
accomplished by the Holy Ghost, and 
signed and sealed to us by the out- 
ward symbol of water sprinkled or 
poured upon us at baptism, the same, 
as the apostle says, the Holy Ghost, 
'' which is shed on us abundantly 
through Jesus Christ." Thus we have 
considered the favorite proof-texts of 
those who hold other views than ours. 
We have done it candidly and fairly, 
endeavoring only to give ''the mind of 



148 Treatise on Baptism, 

the Spirit," and the conclusion is in- 
evitably the same as in the examples 
of baptism, that pouring and sprinkling 
is the manner in which the water 
must be applied in baptism. The ques- 
tion is asked, what is the testimony of 
church history? What is its answer to 
the question, '' How are we to be bap- 
tized?" The clear testimony is that 
sprinkling was practiced in the early 
church, both in the case of adults and 
infants. There are cases of immersion, 
all admit, but that it was the prevail- 
ing mode can hardly be substantiated, 
though a few church historians make 
that assertion. Both the Roman and 
Greek church practiced sprinkling. 
From the days of the Reformation up 
to the present, the historical churches 
have baptized by sprinkling. 
There is an ancient record, to which 



How are we to he Baptized? 149 

we have already referred — the cata- 
combs — which bears incontrovertible evi- 
dence in favor of sprinkling. '' These 
catacombs at Rome were the home of 
the church during its purest days, 
when corruptions had not crept in 
upon its customs received from the 
apostles. This period extended from A. 
D. 64 to A. D. 305 or 311. In one 
place in the catacombs, under the city 
of Rome, they cut a little chapel out 
of the solid rock, in which they held 
their worship. In that also they exca- 
vated a baptistry, and painted on the 
walls rude pictures representing the 
administration of baptism and other 
Christian rites. This, remember, was 
before they were corrupted by the 
papacy. Indeed, those things were, 
perhaps, made by the immediate fellow- 
Christians of St. Paul, or those in- 



150 Treatise on Baptism. 

structed by them. There was nothing 
in the nature of the church's condition 
to bring in any change of Christian 
customs and practices. The Christian 
doctrines and customs were surely those 
of our Lord and his apostles. The bap- 
tistry, or place from which they bap- 
tized those early persecuted Christians, 
pure as yet, at least from the papal 
abuse, is two feet deep^ two feet long^ 
and two feet wide. Here, through all 
these years, as a matter of fact, the 
rite of baptism was performed by 
pouring or sprinkling, for it could have 
been done in no other manner." 

Lately there has been found a docu- 
ment of great value to the church, 
bearing testimony to the great truths 
of Christianity, and also giving much 
light on the early practices of the 
church. The document is called ''The 



How are we to he Baptized? 151 

Teachings of the Twelve Apostles." 
The authenticity of the document has 
been established by the eminent scholars 
of the age. It was written about 100 
A. D., about the time of the death of 
John, the Evangelist, and undoubtedly 
gives what was taught and practiced 
during that earlj^ period of the church's 
history. This document speaks clearly 
as to the manner in which water was 
applied in baptism, and it establishes 
what we have already stated, that 
church history bears incontrovertible 
evidence in favor of pouring or sprink- 
ling. Here is what the document says: 
(Chapter 7.) ''''Now. concerning laptism^ 
haptize thus: Having taught all these 
things^ haptize ye into the name of the 
Father^ and of the Son^ and of the 
Holy Ohost^ in living water. And if 
thou hast not living water^ haptize in- 



152 Treatise on JBaptisrn, 

to other water: and if thou canst not 
in cold then in warm. But if thou 
hast neither pour thrice upon the headj 
in the name of the Father.^ and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ohost^ Those 
who hold to immersion being the only 
mode of baptism, can find no comfort 
in this last found record — possibly the 
oldest of post-apostolic writings. 

Let the testimony so certain and 
conclusive, both from the inspired word 
of God and of church history be suffi- 
cient to bring all to the adoption of 
that manner of baptism most express- 
ive of the purification of the soul from 
sin by the blood of Christ, which the 
apostle affirms is applied by sprinkling. 
Kings, priests, and prophets were an- 
ointed by pouring or sprinkling. The 
people of God are called the anointed, 
having received both the pouring out 



How are we to he Baptized ? 153 

of the spirit and the sprinkling of 
water. May the Father and the Son, 
from whom proceedeth the Holy Ghost, 
continue to guide, bless and comfort 
his people with the promises of his 
grace, and confirm them in the use of 
the blessed Sacraments of the water 
of baptism and the bread and wine of 
the holy communion. 

THE END. 






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